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“MR. OWL AWAKENED THE FAIRIES AND TOLD THEM TO LISTEN TO HIS 

book.” — Page 2 





/a -//^/^ 



Copyright, 1917, by 
Frederick A. Stokes Company 

All rights reserved; including that of translation into 
foreign languages 


SEP 22 1917 


©CI.A473636 


TO 


“E. E. E.” 



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CONTENTS 


Old Mr. Owl Writes a Book ..... i 
The Woodpeckers Start a Bird Band . . 4 

The Cardinal Bird and the Robin .... 7 

The Winter Wrens’ Dew-drop Baths . . 10 

The Seagulls Move to Bluey Cove . . . 13 

How the Little Redbird Became Red ... 16 

Poor Old Mr. Owl’s Toothache .... 19 

The Soloist of the Bird Concert .... 22 

The Robins Open a Spring Shop .... 25 

The Race Between the Secretary Birds . . 28 

The Quarrel Between Naughty Little Spar- 
rows 31 

The Successful Concert of the Chickadees 34 
The Colony of Starlings Give a Ball . . 37 

Robin Redbreast’s and Miss Robin’s Wedding 40 
The Tame Canary Bird and His Mistress . 43 

The Pet Bird of the Ward r . . 46 

The Eagle’s Pride as the Bird of Freedom . 49 

What the Birds Thought of the Fourth of 

July 52 

Mr. Nightingale’s New Friend Mr. Black- 
bird 55 


CONTENTS 


Mr. Plain Sparrow Calls on Ducks . 
Farmer’s Scarecrow Protects a Corn-field . 
The Brave Brown Sparrows in Winter . 
What the Rainbow Thinks of the World . 

Eagles and Ravens 

The Eagles Who Were Always Still . 

The Bobolinks Have a Tea Party . 

A Happy Day in Birdland 

The Robins’ Spring Concert 

The Crows at the Fairies’ Ball . 

The Naughty Little Sick Snowbirds . 

A Sparrow Calls on a Hippopotamus . 

The Robins Come to the Rescue . 

Mr. and Mrs. Owl’s Storeroom 

Polly Was the Heroine of the Fire . 

The Winter Home for the Wren Family . 
The Vain Goldfinch Learns a Lesson . 
The Bats Have a Jollification . 

The Repentance of Little Jim Crow . . . 

The Rescue of the Canary Bird . 

Small Fire Department Rescues Birds 


page 

58 

61 

64 

67 

70 

73 

76 

79 

82 

85 

88 

9i 

94 

97 

100 

103 

106 

109 

112 

115 

1 18 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

“Mr. Owl awakened the fairies and told 

them to listen to his book” . . . Frontispiece 

FACING 

PAGE 

“In the afternoons Elizabeth lets him out of his 

cage” 44 

“ ‘We’ve been on this chair so long,’ said the fourth 

eagle” * . . 74 

“The mother humming-bird hurried back” . . 96 


These stories first appeared, in the American Press Association 
Service and the Western Newspaper Union. 


Many of the sketches in this volume are the work of Rebecca 
McCann , creator of the "Cheerful Cherub" etc. 


OLD MR. OWL WRITES A BOOK 


O LD Mr. Owl wanted 
to write a book and 
he asked the fairies how 
to set about doing it,” com- 
menced daddy. 

“ ‘Well,’ said the fairy 
queen, ‘it makes a good 
deal of difference, old Mr. 
Owl, what you want to 
write about.’ 

“ ‘What nonsense!’ he said. ‘It’s just that 
I want to know how to start off with my 
book. Just think what a marvelous book 
it will be — as for as long as folks can remem- 
ber I’ve been called the Wise Bird — the bird 
who’s awake at night and whose eyes are so 
very bright!’ 

“ ‘Before I started saying what a fine book 
it would be, if I were you, I’d write it and 




2 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

give other people the chance to say so,’ said 
the fairy queen. 

“Mr. Owl began to write with his pen, 
made out of one of Mr. Turkey Gobbler’s 
best feathers, on a large, flat stone, which he 
put in the hollow of his tree. Very late in 
the night, he awakened the fairies who had 
been sleeping, and told them to listen to his 
book. Then he called all the owls from 
the neighborhood with a loud hoot-hoot. But 
before he began to read, he said: 

~“ ‘I’ve not enough light. I will hurt my 
eyes — my beautiful, wise, big eyes.’ 

“You see he had made a special arrange- 
ment to have his own lights, and when he 
said that he hadn’t enough, from all over 
came countless little fireflies. They sparkled 
and gave the most beautiful light all over 
the woods, and Mr. Owl put his spectacles 
on his nose, and said: 

“ ‘Now I see to perfection — which means 
quite all right.’ And Mr. Owl commenced 
reading his book. 

“It told about the parties, balls, and pic- 
nics in fairyland, and of the wild adven- 
tures and happenings in the woods. The 
fairies were absolutely delighted that a 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 3 


book had been written with so much about 
them in it. 

“And the fairy queen was more than 
happy, for the last chapter was all about her. 

“ ‘Well/ said Mr. Owl, ‘you made me 
ashamed of myself for boasting about my 
book before I had written it, and so the 
only thing I could do was to write a wise 
chapter all about you.’ 

“And the fairy queen smiled with pleas- 
ure and also with amusement — for Mr. Owl 
had certainly thought he could write a wise 
book — though the next time, perhaps, he 
wouldn’t say so before he had written it. 

“The fireflies had been sparkling and 
flashing lights all this time, and finally they 
whispered : 

“‘Have a dance, all of you; we’ll give 
you the light and dance too. It is not well 
to read books all the time — you must dance.’ 

“So they all ended off with a fine dance, 
and old Mr. Owl, with his book under his 
wing, danced with the rest of the owls and 
fairies. But before the evening was over he 
presented to the fairy queen a copy of 
his book, which said on the cover, ‘A BOOK, 
by Wise Mr. Owl.’ ” 


THE WOODPECKERS START 
A BIRD BAND 


HE Woodpecker family were around 



1 on various trees drumming, drumming 
on the bark. Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, Mr. 
Downy Woodpecker, and Mr. Red-Headed 
Woodpecker were hard at work. 

“Let’s start a band,” suggested Mr. Hairy 
Woodpecker. 

“What’s that you say?” asked Mr. Red- 
Headed Woodpecker, who had been so busy 
at work that he had not heard what Mr. 
Hairy Woodpecker had been suggesting. 

“A band,” repeated Mr. Hairy Wood- 
pecker. 

“What sort of a band?” asked Mr. Red- 
Headed Woodpecker. 

“In the first place,” continued Mr. Hairy 
Woodpecker, “our bills are not only fine 
tools for the work we have to do getting the 
insects from the trees, and burrowing for 


4 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 5 

our nests, but they would be splendid to use 
in beating the drums in a band.” 

“Where would we get the drums?” asked 
Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker. 

“The trees, of course, you silly!” said Mr. 
Hairy Woodpecker. 

“Oh yes, yes,” agreed Mr. Red-Headed 
Woodpecker. 

And Mr. Downy Woodpecker said, “Of 
course, of course. The trees will be our 
drums.” 

“We’ll get the other birds,” said Mr. Hairy 
Woodpecker, “to help us. We need some- 
thing in a band besides the drums. We will 
ask the goldfinches, the mocking-birds, the 
bobolinks, the phoebe and chickadee families, 
all of the warbler and vireo families, and 
the robins of course. Then I think we’ll 
ask the orioles, the whippoorwills, the thrush 
family, and the song sparrows.” 

“Oh,” said Mr. Downy Woodpecker, “that 
will make a perfect band. We’d better get 
started right away.” And the woodpeckers 
began to practise. They made such a noise 
that the birds came from far and near to 
see what they were doing. Mr. Sapsucker, 


6 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


Mr. Crested Woodpecker, and Mr. Flicker 
Woodpecker had all joined in beating the 
drums too! 

“Why are you making so much noise?” 
asked the birds as they flew around to the 
nearby trees to talk to the woodpeckers. 

“Oh,” said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, “we 
were just going to ask you all to join our 
band. We will beat the drums.” 

“And just what do you want us to do?” 
asked Mr. Robin Redbreast, who was always 
eager to help. 

“You must all sing.” 

“But we all sing differently,” chirped a 
song sparrow. “We know different tunes 
and different songs.” 

“Oh,” said Mr. Hairy Woodpecker, “I 
never thought about that. But never mind, 
you can have little parts to sing alone, and 
other choruses where you will all sing to- 
gether. I’m sure it will be a very fine band 
after we have practised.” And they began 
pounding the drums again. 

“Well,” said Mr. Robin Redbreast, “if the 
bird band isn’t to be the finest in the land, 
at least we’ll make a cheerful noise!” 


THE CARDINAL BIRD AND 
THE ROBIN 


HE cardinal bird,” said daddy, “is a 



X very superior bird and will not come 
down to the ground. The lowest he will 
come is to a bush, but he never hops along 
the woods or lawns, no, not he! 

“One day Robin Redbreast was walking 
on a green lawn. He stopped several times 
to pick up a worm from the ground, swallow 
it whole and then walk along. In a tree 
nearby he spied the cardinal bird. 

“ ‘Hello/ he said cheerily. ‘Won’t you 
come and have a worm with me? There are 
a number in this lawn, and the good rain we 
had last night has made the ground so nice 
and soft. Do join me/ he ended with a bright 
chirp. 

“ ‘No, thank you/ said the cardinal bird. 
‘I wouldn’t soil my feet on that ground. I 
hate the ground, absolutely hate it.’ And the 
cardinal bird looked very haughty and proud. 


7 


8 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


“ ‘Come now/ said Robin Redbreast, ‘you 
won’t get your feet dirty. And if you do,’ 
he whispered knowingly, ‘I can lead you <to 
the nicest brook where you can wash them 
off with fresh rain water. Do come!’ 

“ ‘I cannot,’ said the cardinal bird. ‘I do 
not like the earth. I want to be flying in the 
air, or sitting on the branches of trees. Some- 
times I will perch for a little while on a 
laurel bush — but come any lower? Dear me, 
no, I couldn’t.’ 

“ ‘It’s a great shame,’ said Robin Red- 
breast. ‘Of course there is no accounting for 
taste.’ 

“ ‘Thank you for inviting me,’ added the 
cardinal bird politely. For he prided him- 
self on his good manners. 

“Pretty soon some people came along. At 
once they noticed the beautiful cardinal bird. 
He wore his best red suit which he wears 
all the time — except in the winter, when 
he adds gray to his wings. His collar and 
tie were of black and his feathers stuck up 
on top of his head so as to make him look 
very stylish and fine. 

“‘Oh, what a wonderful bird!’ said the 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 9 


people. Mr. Cardinal Bird knew they were 
admiring him, of course — and so did Robin 
Redbreast. No one had noticed him, but he 
didn’t care, for he knew Mr. Cardinal Bird 
was by far the more beautiful, and a robin 
hasn’t a mean disposition. 

“Well, when the cardinal bird heard the 
praise he began to sing — a glorious high 
voice he had, and he sounded his clear notes 
over and over again. Then suddenly he 
stopped, cocked his head on one side, as 
though to say, 

“ ‘And what do you think of me now?’ 

“From down on the ground Robin Red- 
breast had been listening. ‘Oh, that was won- 
derful, wonderful!’ he trilled. 

“ ‘Listen to that dear little robin,’ said one 
of the people. ‘I must get him some bread 
crumbs.’ 

“When the bread crumbs were scattered 
over the ground, Robin Redbreast invited the 
cardinal bird down again thinking they 
were for him! But the beautiful, proud bird 
would not come down, and the people were 
saying, ‘After all there is nothing quite so 
nice as a dear little robin.’ ” 


THE WINTER WRENS’ DEW- 
DROP BATHS 


HE winter wren is really with us dur- 



X ing the summer too,” said daddy. “But 
he is too shy to be near us. We can only hear 
him sing sometimes. When winter comes, 
though, he goes to people for protection and 
picks up the crumbs they give him. 

“Yesterday he was sitting on a snow-berry 
bush with a tiny companion. The snow- 
berry bushes are full and leafy, and in the 
spring and summer are covered with very 
tiny pink blossoms. In the autumn and win- 
ter they are covered with little berries which 
look as if they had been made out of snow. 

“‘Oh, how I dread the winter!’ said the 
tiny wren. ‘Just imagine how dreadful it 
would be if no one put any bread crumbs 
out for us, or no dog left us some of his din- 
ner on a back porch.’ 

“ ‘Now,’ said Mr. Brown Wren, ‘you 
mustn’t think of such sad thoughts. You al- 


io 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 11 


ways do! Someone will look after us. And 
maybe we’ll find a few spiders now and then 
in the cracks, and then we’ll have a regular 
feast.’ 

“The next day they were back again on 
the snow-berry bush, and the day was much 
warmer. Now the wrens love to bathe above 
all things! Even in the winter they will go 
through a little sheet of ice and get into the 
cold, cold water underneath. For they must 
get their baths! And in the spring, when 
the tiny wrens are brought forth from their 
mossy nests, the first lesson they have is of 
bathing in some nearby brook. 

“But this day it was early in the morning, 
the snow-berry bush was covered with dew- 
drops and the wrens were delighted. 

“ ‘The sun will drive them away soon. 
Let’s take them while we get the chance,’ 
whispered Mr. Brown Wren. 

“ ‘Yes, yes,’ said his small companion. ‘We 
will soon have to bathe when it is so cold. 
Let us have a good warm bath first.’ 

“And then those two little brown wrens 
took the dew-drops in their beaks, and 
dropped each one in turn on their feathers. 


12 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


Then they got under some leaves full of dew- 
drops and shook them down over their little 
feathered bodies. 

“After they were well covered with the 
dew-drops they began to shake all over just 
as every bird does when he takes a bath. And 
back they went to take another bath when 
this one was over. For they seemed to enjoy 
their last warm bath so much! 

“Finally they had bathed enough, and the 
sun appeared strong as could be, and shining 
very hard. They perched still on the branches 
of the snow-berry bush and bathed now in 
the hot sun. Soon their little feathers were 
quite dry and they began to sing. 

“And truly I think their song was one of 
gladness because of their dew-drop baths!” 


THE SEAGULLS MOVE TO 
BLUEY COVE 



Mr. and Mrs. Seagull 
Flew Off with Bluey. 


M R. AND MRS. SEA- 
GULL didn’t really 
know what to do,” said 
daddy. “They loved their 
home, which was in a big 
harbor, for they enjoyed 
seeing the boats pass and 
hearing the different 
whistles. All kinds of 
boats passed — ferryboats, sailboats, old fish- 
ing-boats, great big boats that went across the 
ocean, and little tugboats. 

“The seagulls would fly overhead, and 
then they’d land on top of the water, but 
they never could stay there long, as the boats 
would come along, and they would have to 
fly off. Of late Mr. and Mrs. Seagull, al- 
though they were still as fond of their home 
as ever, became rather worried, for the little 
seagulls didn’t seem to be able to get out of 

13 


i 4 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

the way of the boats as quickly as the old 
seagulls could. Mr. and Mrs. Seagull were 
afraid that one of them might get hurt by 
a boat. 

“Of course the little seagulls were quite 
certain that nothing like that would ever 
happen, but one day it did. 

“They were playing tag on the surface of 
the water and so interested in their game that 
they didn’t notice until too late that a great 
huge boat was coming along. The captain 
of the boat had blown the whistle to scare 
the seagulls away. They hadn’t heard it at 
all, so busy were they playing, and it hit poor 
little Bluey Seagull. One of the others called 
out: 

“ ‘Oh, fly up quickly, Bluey!’ He was not 
badly hit, for the pilot of the boat had seen 
the seagulls and made the boat slow down. 

“Bluey was frightened almost out of his 
wits, but with the encouragement of the other 
seagulls he managed to fly off. 

“When Mr. and Mrs. Seagull saw what 
had happened to Bluey they were horrified 
and quickly flew off with him, all the other 
little seagulls following. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 15 

“They flew as far from the boats as they 
could, for, now that Bluey had been hit, they 
didn’t think life in the harbor where the 
boats passed was so attractive. In fact, they 
decided they would never go back there 
again. 

“They flew so far that they reached a little 
cove at the basin of the harbor, and when 
Mr. Seagull saw it he said: 

“ ‘This will be our new home.’ 

“Mrs. Seagull said: 

“ ‘We will never leave this home until all 
little seagulls are grown up, for then they 
will always be safe and can play all they want 
to without being afraid of getting hit by the 
big boats.’ 

“So it was decided, and the cove was 
named Bluey Cove because it had been on 
Bluey’s account that they had moved there. 
And of all the seagulls he was the happiest 
and most relieved.” 


HOW THE LITTLE REDBIRD 
BECAME RED 


J ACK and Evelyn had 
been playing circus all 
day. Jack had been the big 
man who stands in the mid- 
dle of the ring and cracks 
his whip, while Evelyn had 

a Gray Bird Was turned somersaults and 
Flying Overhead. made pretty bows. They 

told daddy all about it when he came home 
that evening, so he said: 

“As you’re so fond of circus performing 
I will certainly have to tell you about the 
circus the animals gave. 

“Cub Bear got it all up, and every animal 
who went to it had to first agree to do some- 
thing. And it really was a most marvelous 
circus. They all marched around in a pa- 
rade, while the little bears beat the drums. 
The rabbits rode on the backs of the possums, 
and the monkeys rode on the backs of the 
elephants. The chipmunks drove chariots 
16 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 17 

which were drawn by the gray squirrels, and 
the clowns were the frogs. The rest of the 
animals caught hands and followed in the 
march. They laughed and shouted and en- 
joyed themselves immensely. 

“Then all took their seats and one by one 
did some sort of an act. The monkeys won a 
great deal of applause by their trapeze act- 
ing. Cub Bear walked a rope and danced 
around on his hind legs. The bunnies rode 
bicycles, but that ended sadly, as one of them 
— a son of old Peter Rabbit, who was re- 
nowned for his bicycle riding — in trying to 
show off, fell and skinned his nose. All the 
other animals gathered around to see what 
they could do, while the bunny moaned and 
moaned. 

“A gray bird flying over the tent heard the 
sound of moans and cries and flew in to see 
what the trouble was, for he was a very kind- 
hearted bird. He saw that the bunny was 
really more frightened than hurt, and with 
his wings he wiped off the blood from the 
rabbit’s face. The blood-stain never got off 
the wings of the bird, so ever after he and 
his family became known as the redbirds. 


18 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“The bunny fully recovered and once more 
felt like himself; but, of course, after the ac- 
cident, the animals didn’t care to go on per- 
forming, so they all sat around the center of 
the tent and had a most glorious picnic. Re- 
freshments of all kinds were passed around. 

“They had pink lemonade, peanuts, pop- 
corn, ice-cream cones, and water taffy. After 
they’d finished eating they sang all the old- 
time songs and frisked about, playing and 
dancing. Bunny Rabbit, who felt quite spry 
again, frisked about too, and the redbird 
flew overhead, flapping his wings with joy, 
for he was so glad everything had turned out 
so merrily. 

“The circus proved such a success and the 
animals were in such high spirits that they 
then and there decided to have a circus every 
year.” 


POOR OLD MR. OWL’S TOOTHACHE 


T^VELYN had been eat- 
1/ ing a great deal of can- 
dy — so much that it had 
given her a very bad tooth- 
ache — and when daddy 
came home he found her 
curled up on the bed look- 
ing very mournful. Jack 
had been trying to comfort her, but he hadn’t 
been able to help much. So when he heard 
daddy’s step he called, “Come along, daddy, 
and tell a story especially for Evelyn to make 
her forget about her toothache.” 

“That is too bad,” said daddy. “I’m sorry 
my little girl has a toothache. I’ll see if I 
can’t tell a good story so you’ll feel better 
and will be able to sleep and have pleasant 
dreams. I think I’ll tell you about old Mr. 
Owl, for he had the most terrible toothache 
one time. He had been eating a great many 

19 



20 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


sugar-plums and lots of candy, and before 
he knew it one of his teeth was aching so hard 
he could hardly stand it. ‘Oh, dear/ he 
moaned; ‘my tooth, my poor tooth! What- 
ever will I do?’ 

“It ached so badly for several days that 
he decided at last he’d go to the dentist. Dr. 
Raven was considered the very best dentist. 
So off went Mr. Owl to his office in the pine 
tree. When he arrived there he saw Dr. 
Raven busily fixing Mrs. Crow’s teeth. She 
was leaning back on a stump of wood which 
Dr. Raven used as his dental chair. She had 
a rubber band over her mouth and looked 
very miserable. It quite frightened Mr. Owl, 
but he tried to be brave and sat down, put 
on his spectacles and began to read one of 
Dr. Raven’s magazines. In a few moments 
Mrs. Crow got out of the chair, and Dr. 
Raven said, ‘I’m ready for you now, Mr. 
Owl.’ So Mr. Owl took off his spectacles, 
got into Dr. Raven’s chair and leaned his 
head back. ‘Open wide,’ said Dr. Raven. 
Mr. Owl opened his mouth as wide as he 
could, and Dr. Raven looked inside. First 
he looked over his upper teeth, then over his 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 21 


lower teeth, and finally he began to poke at 
one back tooth with such energy that Mr. 
Owl screamed, ‘That’s my sore tooth, and 
you’re hurting it terribly!’ 

“ ‘Yes,’ said Dr. Raven; ‘the tooth is a wis- 
dom tooth, and it is much inflamed, so I’ll 
take it out right away.’ He reached for his 
pinchers, but Mr. Owl said: ‘If you take 
out my wisdom tooth I’ll lose my wisdom, 
and I’m known all over the world for my 
wisdom. I simply won’t have it.’ 

“And before Dr. Raven had a chance to 
speak Mr. Owl had jumped out of the chair 
and flown off. When he got home his tooth 
still hurt, but the next morning it felt much 
better, and the next day it was all well. ‘I 
know what all the trouble was,’ said Mr. 
Owl. ‘I ate too much candy. I’ll never eat 
too much again, for I cannot lose any of my 
wisdom teeth when I’m known as the wisest 
bird.’ ” 

“Daddy,” said Jack, “your story would be 
a very good one, only owls don’t have teeth.” 
Daddy smiled, and as the children laugh- 
ingly went to bed, Evelyn said her toothache 
had gone. 


THE SOLOIST OF THE BIRD 
CONCERT 


T HE birds had begun their 
early morning concerts. 
“I know why,” said dad- 
dy. “It is because they have 
been practising for their 
opening concert of the sea- 
He Sang His Song son, which they gave this 

Several Times. . , i • i t 

morning and which 1 am 
going to tell you about this evening. They 
have been practising hard every morning. 

“The vireos, having such lovely voices and 
being devoted to music, got it up and made 
all the arrangements. Yesterday, the day be- 
fore the concert, they scratched signs on the 
trees, which in the bird world read: 

“ ‘Concert in the village park to-morrow 
morning at 6 o’clock. All those who are tak- 
ing part will, of course, be present. Those 
who are not taking part will be invited to 
attend. Splendid music. Good seats. Fea- 
22 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 23 

ture of concert to be the soloist. The name 
of the soloist will not be made known until 
the concert.’ 

“All the birds were tremendously excited 
when they read that, for it was all a surprise 
arranged by the vireos. They were the only 
ones who knew who the soloist was to be. 
At the rehearsals even the soloist had not ap- 
peared. 

“At last the time for the concert came. All 
the birds were up very early that morning, 
fussing to look their very best. 

“Most of the birds sat around on the grass, 
but some of them had reserved boxes in the 
trees. 

“The program for the concert was delight- 
ful. The robins sang in chorus, as did the 
chirping sparrows. The warblers sang quar- 
tets and duets. Several of the chickadees gave 
little solos. The thrushes and the vireos ap- 
peared many times on the program. They 
were encored again and again and were 
greatly pleased. 

“The soloist was to appear the very last. 
A vireo came out and announced to the audi- 
ence that the soloist, being slightly nervous, 


24 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


would not stand before them and sing, but 
would sing from a very short distance. 

“Then they heard from a neighboring tree 
the strange, lonely song of the whippoorwill. 
He sang his song several times over, and the 
applause was terrific. The birds were 
charmed, absolutely charmed. 

“The whippoorwill was very modest and 
didn’t see why they liked his solo at all. He 
had really been very shy about appearing at 
the concert. But he was encouraged by the 
vireos, who, as a rule, are nervous, too, when 
they appear in public. 

“At the conclusion of the concert a vote of 
thanks was given the vireos for the crown- 
ing success of their concert and an additional 
vote of thanks for their splendid soloist.” 


THE ROBINS OPEN A SPRING 
SHOP 



The/ Robins Agreed 
It was a Good 
Scheme. 


robins, having 
X left their warm win- 
ter home, had settled 
near a great, big, love- 
ly park,” said daddy. 
“Now, one of the robins 
happened to be a very 
practical old bird. He 
suggested that they 
shouldn’t spend all their time singing, espe- 
cially now, before the summer came. Then 
he thought it was all right to play and sing 
all day. But it would be nicer now, he 
thought, to do a little work. 

“The old robin’s idea was that certain 
robins every morning should start out and 
dig up worms, for then they could get more 
than they wanted and could help supply the 
flocks and flocks of newcomers. Then other 
robins could go into the woods and get the 


26 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


new little berries that had just come up, and 
the rest of the robins would keep a shop in 
the biggest tree of the park. All the birds 
would do their shopping there in the most 
central place. 

“All the robins agreed that it would be 
an excellent scheme and so much better than 
idling away all their time. 

“As soon as a new flock of birds would 
come to the park the other birds would tell 
them about the shop of the robins, and off 
they would fly to it. And such good things 
as the robins all had in their shop! It kept 
them pretty busy hurrying around to get 
enough provisions to last for all of their cus- 
tomers as well as themselves. But they thor- 
oughly enjoyed being so busy and decided 
that there was nothing in the world like 
work. At night they would feel so much 
better than if they’d been idle all day, and 
then they felt as if they had really been do- 
ing some good, for it was a great, great help 
to all of the other birds. You can imagine 
how they wouldn’t be able to find things so 
quickly and they wouldn’t know right away 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 27 

where the softest earth was so as to dig for 
the worms. 

“Of course some of the early bird families 
did arrive as early as the robins, but the 
robins were the thoughtful and unselfish ones 
who thought of the other birds.” 

“Did they charge anything for the things 
they sold?” asked Jack. 

“No,” said daddy; “the old robin said that 
birds should never charge each other any- 
thing, and, besides, they really felt that the 
work was doing them good and that then 
they’d enjoy the summer all the more. 

“And the other birds certainly did appre- 
ciate what the robins were doing for them. 

“The shop of the robins grew to be just 
like a daily party, for all the birds would 
fly there every day just about the same time, 
and after they had picked out the berries and 
the worms that struck their fancies they’d 
stay around and chirp and chat with the rob- 
ins and each other.” 


THE RACE BETWEEN THE 
SECRETARY BIRDS 


T HE secretary birds had 
planned to have some 
field races,” began daddy, 
“and the afternoon of the 
races had come. You know, 
the secretary birds have 

very, very long thin legs. 
Their legs are so thin that 

you can hardly see how it is they can sup- 
port such big bodies, for the secretary birds 
have really fat bodies. 

“Well, on the afternoon of the races they 
all entered, and you never saw such running 
in all your life! They simply went like the 
wind, but the chief race of all was between 

one bird named Sandy and one named 

Mongo. They were considered the fastest 
runners of all. They had raced often and 
often before and had always come in a tie. 
But this time Mongo had been practising 
28 



Mongo Got Quite a 
Bit Ahead. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 29 

very hard and had been very careful not to 
eat anything to hurt his wind. Sandy had 
been practising every day, too, but he thought 
it was absurd to give up things to eat. How- 
ever, Mongo had always heard that all ath- 
letes were very careful of their eating, and, 
as he had never been able to beat Sandy yet, 
he was bound he would try everything he 
could so as to win. 

“The prize was to be a fine, great, big 
snake which had been captured and killed 
a few days before the races were to take 
place.” 

“Do secretary birds eat snakes?” asked 
Evelyn. 

“Yes,” said daddy; “they practically live 
on them.” 

“I shouldn’t think that would be nice 
food,” added Evelyn. 

“No, we don’t think so,” answered daddy, 
“but you know we eat bacon and like it, so 
probably the secretary birds think it is as 
funny for us to eat pigs as we do to hear of 
their eating snakes.” 

“No,” said Evelyn thoughtfully, “I sup- 
pose not. They sound so horrid, though.” 


30 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


At that moment Jack, who was growing 
very impatient, not caring what the secretary 
birds ate, chimed in: “Daddy, please hurry 
and tell us who won the race. I can hardly 
wait to hear. I am sure Mongo did, though.” 

“No,” said Evelyn; “I think Sandy did be- 
cause he wasn’t such an old fuss as Mongo.” 

“Well,” continued daddy, “during the race 
all the secretary birds shrieked in their cack- 
ling voices: ‘Go it: go it! Win, Mongo! 
Win, Sandy!’ 

“For a few moments Mongo got quite a 
bit ahead, but Sandy succeeded in catching 
up with him, and they passed by the goal 
side by side. 

“It was a splendid race, but it showed that 
Mongo and Sandy were really absolutely 
evenly matched, so they gave a funny cackle, 
which meant a laugh, and each, taking an 
end of the prize, said, ‘We’ll all have a taste 
of the prize, as neither of us can win it.’ 

“So they all sat down to a very jolly sup- 
per party.” 


THE QUARREL BETWEEN 
NAUGHTY LITTLE 
SPARROWS 


AlCK and Evelyn had 
been feeding crumbs to 
the birds every day for 
some time. 

“I fancy they enjoy them 
pretty well, don’t they?” 
said daddy. 

“Yes; they love them,” replied Evelyn. 

“Do they ever scrap over who shall get a 
crumb first?” added daddy. 

“No,” said Jack; “they never seem to. 
They really are very cunning, and they seem 
to be very friendly and get along beauti- 
fully.” 

“Well, you know,” said daddy, “the other 
day I saw some birds having an awful fight. 
One little sparrow had found a very big 
crumb and was trying to keep it all to him- 
self.” 



One Little Bird 
Found a Crumb. 


31 


32 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“Sparrows are supposed to be rather fond 
of fighting, aren’t they, daddy?” asked Jack. 

“They do seem to be considered crosser and 
to have more cranky natures than other 
birds. But perhaps it’s because they’re al- 
ways around us, and they never have a quar- 
rel that we don’t see it. But really we ought 
to be very grateful to the sparrows, for we 
always have them with us.” 

“Yes; that’s true,” said Evelyn. “And 
they’re plucky little creatures, too, never 
minding bad weather, not even the very 
worst. But do tell us more about the fight, 
daddy.” 

“Another little sparrow,” continued daddy, 
“was furious when he saw the selfishness of 
the first sparrow. He completely lost his 
temper. He flew at the first little sparrow 
and hit him with his wings just as hard as 
ever he could. 

“Then a number of sparrows came and 
joined in the fight. Some took the side of 
the first sparrow and some of the second 
sparrow. 

“It really might have been quite a serious 
battle had not an old sparrow stepped in and 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 33 

pitched his voice way up in the air. He sim- 
ply shrieked at the sparrows. 

“‘Stop; stop at once!’ he cried. 

“All the sparrows stopped at once, for they 
were very much afraid of the old sparrow. 
He was quite their leader, and, though he 
was a very jolly old soul and would enter into 
all their sports, still he was quite strict. 

“ ‘Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves, all of 
you,’ he continued — ‘you, little first sparrow, 
for being so selfish, and you, little second 
one, for losing your temper, and the rest of 
you for joining in?’ 

“And all the little sparrows hung their 
heads in shame, and they then and there 
promised the old sparrow that they would 
never again be greedy and selfish nor would 
they fight. 

“The old sparrow then looked very much 
relieved, for it always made him very un- 
happy when the sparrows were naughty.” 


THE SUCCESSFUL CONCERT OF 
THE CHICKADEES 


E VELYN was very 
fond of little chicka- 
dees, and she was so 
pleased when daddy said 
that he was going to tell 
them a story about them 
that evening. 

° ne Sang le a Soio^^ “Y o u know,” com- 
menced daddy, “the 
chickadees had a concert the other evening 
for the other birds. They sent out invitations 
on petals of flowers, and on the petals they 
made little holes with their beaks. They 
made six holes, meaning that the concert 
would begin at 6 o’clock. Exactly at 6 they 
all arrived. 

“They were all invited to perch on the 
nearby apple tree and pear tree, and the 
chickadees hopped about on the grass below. 
“Then the concert began. First one little 
34 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 35 


chickadee sang a very sweet little solo, which 
won a great deal of applause. 

“The choruses were enjoyed tremendously, 
too, and the refrain of ‘chickadee-dee-dee’ 
was lovely, the other birds thought. 

“But, as you can imagine, the chickadee 
knew that it was the fashion to have special 
features at concerts or at least one special 
feature. 

“So as a surprise, just before the last num- 
ber, which was a chorus of all the chicka- 
dees, a special feature was announced by the 
leader of the concert. 

“ ‘We are to have/ said the chickadee 
leader, ‘a different number from any other 
on the program.’ 

“At this all the birds looked at one another 
with astonishment. 

“ ‘We are to have,’ the chickadee leader 
continued, ‘a ballet.’ 

“Now, the birds knew that in ‘really real’ 
grand opera there is usually a ballet, but to 
have one at their concert was wonderful. 

“But before they had time to talk about it 
out came all the little chickadees, dancing 
and hopping and wearing little wreaths of 


36 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

flowers about their necks. Each carried a 
little flower in his beak, and every flower 
was of a different color. 

“For some time they danced in and out of 
a little circle which they made. They re- 
ceived constant applause. 

“It was something new and different to 
have a ballet dance at the concert. The birds 
were very much impressed with the chicka- 
dees for being so up to date. 

“The chickadees were delighted that their 
concert had been such a success, for, as a 
matter of fact, they had been rather nervous 
in getting up a concert when the other birds 
had given such beautiful ones during the 
spring. They knew that their voices were 
not at all lovely, but the birds had wanted 
to hear them, and now the chickadees were 
very, very happy.” 


THE COLONY OF STARLINGS 
GIVE A BALL 


T HE birds gave con- 
certs early every 
morning and sometimes, 
too, they would give an 
extra one just after the 
sun went down in the 
They Took Little Fly- afternoon. Jack and 
ing Trips. Evelyn loved to hear 

the birds sing, and they told daddy that they 
were really learning to know the various 
songs of the different birds. 

“I have meant for some time,” said daddy, 
“to tell you a story about a ball the starlings 
gave some time ago. Now the starlings are 
not singers. They can only chirp and twitter, 
but they love music and enjoy hearing all the 
other birds. They are great friends with the 
robins, and when they suggested giving a ball 
the robins were at once ready to help them 
with it.” 



37 


38 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“I don’t believe we know what starlings 
are. We may have seen them and not have 
known what they were,” said Jack. 

“Starlings,” continued daddy, “are about 
the same size as robins. They are black, or 
they appear to be black. In reality their 
feathers look different colors in different 
lights. But they usually appear black, as, of 
course, they don’t come so very near to peo- 
ple. They are not nearly so tame as the 
robins. They have yellow beaks. And an- 
other thing about them is that they are very 
fond of their own kind. They travel always 
in huge flocks, for they love to be together. 

“But to continue about the ball. The star- 
lings said that they would like to give a 
party, and the robins thought it was an ex- 
cellent plan. 

“So invitations were sent out to all the 
other birds around. And they all accepted 
with great pleasure. 

“Ever so many were invited. There were 
the chickadees, the song sparrows, the chip- 
ping sparrows, the orioles, the thrushes, and 
even the catbirds were asked. 

“Of course, great preparations were made 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 39 

for the ball. The robins said that they would 
give the music, for, of course, the starlings 
couldn’t have a ball without music. 

“And you should have seen the birds danc- 
ing. They danced until they were com- 
pletely out of breath. The robins sang lovely 
waltzes and they whistled for the jigs. 

“Then, when the starlings thought that 
their guests had had enough of the dancing, 
they suggested that they should all have some 
supper. They had their supper served in 
little moss cups for each bird, and it did taste 
so good out of such a dainty, pretty cup.” 

“I suppose they had little worms, didn’t 
they?” asked Evelyn. 

“Yes, indeed,” said daddy, “but that is 
what they think is delicious.” 


ROBIN REDBREAST’S AND MISS 
ROBIN’S WEDDING 



' ' \ I ~ — VV UJ A V/VUI11^ V i 

* ,<4 feathers and smoothing 


L ITTLE Miss Robin 
was preening her 


them down, for it was 
the 14th of February 
and she had received a 


in a Few Minutes Mr. valentine. Naturally she 


was very much excited, 


Robin Came. 


and she looked at her reflection as she stood 
over the brook. 

“ ‘Yes,’ she said to herself, ‘I am looking 
well to-day. I do hope Mr. Robin Redbreast 
will think so too. My, what a fine bird he is! 
And, oh, how lucky I am to have received 
a valentine from him!’ 

“Now Mr. Robin Redbreast for a long 
time had admired Miss Robin and thought 
she was the most beautiful bird he’d ever 
seen. And so he began to get his valentine 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 41 


ready ’way back in the autumn when the 
trees had turned red. He would fly from 
tree to tree and spend hours each day look- 
ing for the most beautiful and perfect leaf, 
and he wanted it to be a real crimson color. 
At last he found it and put it away in his 
nest, very carefully covering it over with 
moss and straw to keep it well protected and 
so it wouldn’t fade or shrivel up at the ends. 
Then a few days before Valentine’s day he 
got a little stick which he stuck through the 
red leaf, which he had pecked off into the 
shape of a heart, and this was the valentine 
he sent to Miss Robin. Of course the stick 
was to mean that his heart had been pierced 
by love. 

“Mr. Robin Redbreast sent his valentine 
by a messenger, and then he waited what 
seemed hours to him before he went to call 
on Miss Robin, and it seemed hours to Miss 
Robin, too, who had smoothed her feathers 
so many times. 

“At last Miss Robin heard him singing the 
most beautiful song, with such high notes it 
seemed as if they almost reached the sky. 
And, oh, how proud Miss Robin was to feel 


42 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

that such a beautiful singer was to be her 
mate! 

“In a few moments Mr. Robin Redbreast 
came in sight and stood before her by the 
brook. Miss Robin was all of a flutter with 
joy and nervousness. 

“ Tve come,’ said Mr. Robin Redbreast, 
‘to ask you if you’ll be my wife and come to 
my new nest in the apple tree.’ 

“And then he sang another little song. 

“‘I would love to, I would love to!’ 
chirped Miss Robin. 

“ ‘We’ll be married to-day, then,’ said Mr. 
Robin Redbreast, ‘for I’ve invited the guests.’ 

“Then he gave a long call. At that, from 
far and near, countless robins flew down and 
hovered around. 

“Mr. Robin Redbreast and his bride flew 
to the branch of a nearby tree, and all the 
others perched about them singing such 
merry, happy songs. 

“And then they all went back to Mr. Robin 
Redbreast’s nest, where a banquet awaited 
them of fat, juicy worms.” 


THE TAME CANARY BIRD AND 
HIS MISTRESS 



He Walked on 
Her Hand. 


D ADDY had heard that 
afternoon the story of 
a very tame canary bird. 
The little girl who owned 
the bird, and who was a 
friend of Jack and Evelyn, 
had told daddy about her 
little pet. So when daddy got home in the 
evening he was ready at once to tell the story 
of the little bird. 

“I am going to tell you about the little bird 
Elizabeth has. Her daddy gave him to her 
several weeks ago, and he is just as tame as 
tame can be,” said daddy. “She has named 
him Bubsie, and he knows his name too, for 
whenever she calls ‘Bubsie !’ he replies with 
a little ‘Peep, peepP 

“Every morning, bright and early, he 
wakes up and begins to sing the most beauti- 
ful songs. He sings so steadily that Elizabeth 
43 


44 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

says it is a surprise to her that he doesn’t 
burst his little throat. 

“After Elizabeth gets up she always gives 
him a little piece of apple before she begins 
her breakfast. She puts it on her finger be- 
tween two wires of the cage, and he hops 
right over on his little bar and takes it from 
her finger. 

“The next thing is his bath, which he takes 
soon after breakfast. He loves that. He spat- 
ters the water about and has just the best 
time in the world. He acts as if it were the 
most wonderful game. After his bath he has 
a treat of delicious lettuce to eat, and then 
he sits in the sun and smoothes down his 
feathers. 

“In his cage there is a swing, and he swings 
on it and hops from one perch to the other. 
In fact, he has a fine romp. He usually does 
this right after his bath, for then he feels so 
energetic. 

“In the afternoons Elizabeth lets him out 
of his cage. Of course she sees first that there 
are no windows up or doors ajar before she 
opens the door of the cage. When the cage 
door is open Bubsie flies out and makes a 



“in THE AFTERNOONS ELIZABETH LETS HIM OUT OF HIS CAGE.” — Page 44 


















DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 45 

tour of the room. How he does enjoy flying 
around and perching back of the different 
pictures and on the window-sill. The 
thing he likes more than anything else is to 
play with Elizabeth. He perches on her 
shoulder and walks around on her hand. And 
he loves to tease her too, for if there are any 
flowers in the room he will fly over to them, 
peck at them and begin munching at them. 
Then he won’t let Elizabeth catch him. He 
thinks this a huge joke, and he always flies 
to some high spot in the room and begins to 
sing. 

“Elizabeth told me any number of tales of 
the tricks that he does, but she told me to 
invite you two children to come and see her, 
and then she promises you that Bubsie will 
entertain you.” 

“Oh, that’s fine!” said Evelyn. “Do you 
suppose we can go to-morrow?” 

“Yes, I think so,” said daddy, “for, as a 
matter of fact, I believe I told her to expect 
you both to-morrow.” 

“Hurrah!” shouted the children. “You 
always think of such nice things for us to do.” 


THE PET BIRD OF THE WARD 


W ELL,” said daddy, 
“I suppose you are 
ready for your story, 
and this evening I am 
going to tell you about 
a little boy I saw as I 
passed by a ward in a 
hospital I was visiting 
to-day.” 

Jack and Evelyn sat up and listened eag- 
erly, as they loved to hear about other little 
boys and girls. 

“This little boy,” daddy continued, “was 
in the bed nearest the door I passed, and I 
noticed him particularly because on a table 
near his bed was a large cage containing a 
small yellow canary bird. I asked the nurse 
if pets were allowed in the ward and why 
this little boy especially wanted a bird. She 
told me that the little boy was an orphan 
and had been brought into the hospital one 
46 



The Bird Sat on His 
Hand. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 47 


day, having been run over by a motorcycle. 
He was very much injured, and they ex- 
pected he would die any minute. He was 
brave and scarcely moaned, but whenever 
the nurse would stop by his bed he would 
beg her to send for his bird, which was at 
the orphans’ home. The nurse gently would 
explain that pets were not allowed in the 
hospital. One night his fever became very 
high, and in his rambling talk he begged for 
his canary. The doctor, who was a very kind- 
hearted man, told the nurse to send for the 
bird, as the little boy would not live more 
than a few days, and if the bird would give 
him such great happiness they might be able 
to break a rule in his case. 

“So the bird was sent for, and instead of 
dying the little boy began to grow better each 
day, and the bird’s singing entertained and 
gave pleasure to the other patients in the 
ward. The bird was very tame, and when 
the little boy opened the cage door he would 
hop out and over the bed-quilt and perch on 
the little boy’s hand. 

“The canary made friends with every one. 
He was not at all afraid of the grave doctors 


48 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


who came in every little while to see how the 
sick people were getting along. Especially 
was he friendly with the little boy’s nurse, 
who fed him lumps of sugar. 

“I stepped inside the room and asked the 
little boy how long he had had the bird. ‘Oh,’ 
he said, ‘a lady who came to visit the orphans’ 
home gave him to me when I was ill in bed 
with mumps! That was six years ago, 
and he has been such a friend to me ever 
since. His name is Mumps, too, as I thought 
his chest looked as fat as my cheeks, and the 
name has always clung to him. He adores 
flowers, and whenever a patient has any, 
Mumps flies over and pulls off the petals and 
eats them.’ ” 

“Oh,” said Evelyn as daddy paused, “I 
wish I could have a canary!” 

“Well, maybe I’ll bring you one to-mor- 
row,” replied daddy. 

“And I’ll help you feed him,” said Jack. 


THE EAGLE’S PRIDE AS THE 
BIRD OF FREEDOM 



The Eagle Was Flying 
Overhead. 


ourse, as you can 
imagine, Jack and 
Evelyn had been buying 
all sorts and all sizes of 
firecrackers. 

“I think the Fourth of 
July is my favorite holi- 
day of the whole year,” 
said Jack. 

“Yes,” said Evelyn, “so do I, except pos- 
sibly Christmas and our birthdays.” 

“I suppose,” said daddy, “that you two 
children will be up bright and early to-mor- 
row morning, and I have my very great sus- 
picions that your clothes are all ready to be 
put on in the morning instead of having to 
waste any time in thinking what you will 


‘.‘I hardly think I had better tell a story 
to-night,” said daddy, “for you two ought to 
49 


50 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

get some sleep. I am afraid by the time I 
finish you may suggest that instead of it be- 
ing the time for going to bed it is the time 
for getting up.” 

“Oh, no,” said both the children. “Please 
tell us a little story.” 

“Yes,” said daddy, “I don’t believe I can 
let a single night go by without a story, not 
even the Fourth of July eve. 

“Well, once upon a time — ” 

“Daddy,” chimed in Jack, “I never heard 
you begin a story that way before.” 

“You see, this is a special occasion, so I am 
allowed these favors. 

“But, to continue, there was once a great 
big eagle who was flying overhead on the 
Fourth of July, and when he saw all the fire- 
crackers going off and heard all the noise 
and saw the parade with the flags flying and 
the band playing, he said: 

“ ‘To think that I belong to the family that 
is taken as the representative of all that. I 
mean freedom and liberty and all those won- 
derful things. My great-great-grandfathers 
may not have fought for freedom as the 
great-great-grandfathers of the little boys 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 51 

and girls who are to-day firing off firecrackers 
did, but they flew overhead and said to the 
winds, which whispered it to the soldiers: 

“ ‘ “The eagles are free — you must be free.” 
And the soldiers whispered back to the 
winds : 

“ ‘ “Yes, as the eagles are free in the air 
above, so will we be free on this land below.” ’ 
“So, no wonder the eagle is more than 
proud of being the bird of freedom and the 
emblem of the United States.” 


WHAT THE BIRDS THOUGHT OF 
THE FOURTH OF JULY 


T was the day after the 
. Fourth of July, and 
daddy told the children 
that he must surely tell 
them about the little 
birds and what they 
thought of the wonder- 
ful Independence Day. 
“Didn’t they like it?” 

“No,” said daddy. “They were not so 
very happy yesterday, but I will tell you all 
about it, for it is quite a long story. 

“You see, some of the older birds knew 
what the Fourth of July meant. They thought 
it was splendid to belong to such a fine, free 
country during all the other days of the year, 
but on the Fourth of July they did not feel 
so patriotic. They would have liked it very 
much if all the little boys and girls had sung 
52 



They Fired Them Off 
Quickly. 

asked Evelyn. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 53 


songs, but the noise of the firecrackers they 
thought was most disturbing. 

“There were no places where they could 
go that they didn’t find children with fire- 
crackers. Even in front of the farm-houses 
the children seemed to have firecrackers 
enough to last them for years. 

“The old birds decided that if they went 
way off in the woods for the day they might 
get away from all the noise, so they planned 
to start before dawn. They went, but at the 
first place they thought of stopping and giv- 
ing a nice little bird concert, they found a 
picnic party of children. They waited for a 
moment until the children unpacked their 
baskets. But the goodies were not nearly so 
numerous as the firecrackers. 

“So the birds moved on again, and again 
they found a picnic party and were at a loss 
what to do. 

“The old birds were grumbling and mak- 
ing every one around feel just as ‘grumbly’ 
as they were, when a little song sparrow, who 
had been keeping very quiet during all the 
fuss, said: 

“ ‘Now, look here, I think it is pretty mean 


54 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

of us to grumble while all the little boys and 
girls are having such a good time. It is right 
for them to be patriotic, and we should not 
grumble about the noise they make one day 
in the year, when we are singing fit to burst 
our throats every morning just at sunrise. Be- 
sides, we should be more appreciative, for we 
love this free air, and we should feel proud 
that we can fly about and enjoy it. And, 
above everything else, think of the times in 
the spring when those little girls and boys 
threw crumbs to us when it was chilly, and 
how often in the hot days of summer we find 
little drinking-tins in the trees filled with cool 
water.’ 

“And all the birds suddenly thought how 
perfectly right the song sparrow was, and 
they gave their concert, pretending that the 
big cannon crackers were huge chords of 
music accompanying their solos and cho- 
ruses.” 


MR. NIGHTINGALE’S NEW FRIEND 
MR. BLACKBIRD 



“Nice old lady will 
hear our voices.” 


HEARD a story the other 
day,” said daddy, “a 
quite true story. Mr. 
Nightingale had built too 
large a nest. 

“After a while he 
thought of a visitor he 
would like to have all the 
time, and off he started on 
his travels. 

“As he went along, flying as fast as he 
could, he kept thinking to himself how very 
lonely he had been of late. 

“At last he reached the spot he had chosen 
for resting. It was in a blackbird’s bay. 
There were many low bushes and shrubs and 
berry trees in this bay, and in the marshy 
water were quantities of pond-lilies. 

“Soon a very fine bird — black as black 
could be, and very shiny, just as if he’d pol- 
55 



56 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


ished his wings with shoe-blacking — perched 
on a bush beside the one where Mr. Nightin- 
gale was resting. 

“ ‘Did you come to hear us sing or talk or 
scream?’ asked the blackbird. 

“Mr. Nightingale sang a little opening 
song and then began to talk to the black- 
bird. 

“ ‘Mr. Blackbird,’ he said, ‘you’re a hand- 
some fellow, and you’re very smart. I’ve 
heard a secret about your family. Many 
have done what you will do. You must try. 
That’s all.’ And again Mr. Nightingale sang 
a song. 

“‘What do you mean, Mr. Nightingale? 
Your song is lovely, but your talk is very, very 
queer.’ And Mr. Blackbird shook his head 
sadly. 

“Well, I mean you to come to my nest. It’s 
too big for me. It’s fitted out perfectly — 
all the latest improvements — fresh water to 
drink supplied by my water man, Mr. Show- 
ers, and new worms each day my children 
bring to my nest in plenty of time for break- 
fast — and our rooms are both shady and 
sunny. In fact, it’s a very superior home. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 57 


But in the house nearby lives a dear old lady 
and I want her to be given a treat. She has 
gone away on a visit and when she comes 
back I want you to be singing duets with me.’ 

“ ‘What?’ shouted the blackbird. ‘I’m to 
sing with you?’ 

“ ‘Most certainly. Many blackbirds have 
copied our voices so that you wouldn’t be able 
to tell us apart if you couldn’t see us. The 
nice old lady will hear our voices and think 
that there are two of me! When she sees 
that one is you, she’ll think you’re a smart 
bird — that’s what she’ll think. Besides, I 
want a companion and I like you.’ 

“ ‘Well, I never heard so many reasons in 
all my life,’ said the blackbird. ‘But I’ll 
go just as soon as I get my suitcase packed. 
There are several little delicacies from the 
bay I’d like to bring along.’ And Mr. Black- 
bird stopped to put some red berries and 
other goodies in his straw bag. Then of! they 
went, and Mr. Blackbird really did learn 
to sing just like Mr. Nightingale.” 


MR. PLAIN SPARROW CALLS 
ON DUCKS 



“Would you like to 
join us?” 


T was such a hot day yes- 
terday, n said daddy, “that 
Mr. Plain Sparrow simply 
could not get cool. You 
see he never goes away in 
the winter and so he gets 
used to really cold weath- 
er. On a day as hot as it 
was yesterday he simply 
doesn’t know what to do with himself. He 
called himself Mr. Plain Sparrow because 
that was exactly what he was. He was just 
a plain, ordinary sparrow, and he thought it 
such a wise thing to call himself that — and 
not put on any silly frills. He prided him- 
self on being sensible. 

“ ‘If there’s anything in this world I hate,’ 
he said, ‘it’s pretending to be what a creature 
is not.’ And so he called himself by the name 
of Mr. Plain Sparrow, and his wife was Mrs. 

58 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 59 


Plain Sparrow, and his children were the 
Plain Sparrow Children. 

“ ‘I think/ he said, ‘that I will take a walk 
or a fly to the duck pond in the park nearby. 
Yes, it seems to me that’s an excellent scheme. 
I would like to see those ducks, for they’re 
right smart creatures, and I like to hear their 
funny quack-quack talk. 

“ ‘What are you up to, ducks?’ he called, 
as he flew over the pond, and then perched 
on a small bush that was at one side. 

“ ‘We’re well,’ said the ducks. ‘We’re en- 
joying a cooling drink between swims. Would 
you like to join us? It’s just tea time.’ 

“ ‘Tea time, eh?’ said Mr. Plain Sparrow. 
‘And would you give a fellow a good, fat 
worm in place of bread and butter and cake?’ 

“ ‘Quack-quack! ha, ha!’ laughed the ducks. 
‘We don’t like bread and butter and cake. 
But we can’t get the worm for you just now, 
as we’re not very good at digging on such a 
hot day!’ 

“‘Well, then, how about my digging for 
a couple of them, and then joining all you 
nice ducks when you’re ready to have your 
tea?’ 


60 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“ ‘Splendid idea,’ quacked the ducks. And 
off went Mr. Plain Sparrow to a soft place 
in the earth where he thought there would 
be some good worms. 

“Pretty soon he came back with some fine 
ones, and he sat on his perch and ate them, 
while the ducks nibbled at their food, and had 
drinks of pond water, which they called tea. 
Mr. Plain Sparrow flew down and took sips 
of water by the side of the pond, and in one 
very shallow place he had some nice shower- 
baths while the ducks were having swims. 
And before he left he told the ducks what a 
good time he had had, and how nice and cool 
he felt. 

“ ‘Well, you’re so friendly we’re glad you 
came,’ quacked the ducks once again.” 


FARMER’S SCARECROW PROTECTS 
A CORN-FIELD 


rpO-NIGHT,” said daddy, 
A “we are going to have 
the story of the meeting of 
the brownies, crows, and old 
Mr. Scarecrow. The crows 
had been giving feasts in 
a corn-field almost every 
morning bright and early 
before any of the big peo- 
ple who lived in the nearby 
farm-house were up. Such 
feasts as they did have! And 
one day they asked the 
brownies if they wouldn’t come to their next 
one. 

“ ‘Caw-caw,’ said the crows together. 

“ ‘Where are we going?’ asked one of the 
brownies teasingly, for they had been going 
around and around in circles and hadn’t 
reached any place. 

61 



“It’s a man.” 


62 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“ ‘I don’t quite know,’ said Black Crown 
Crow, ‘it’s a question which is very hard to 
decide.’ 

“ ‘But we thought you had chosen a special 
spot,’ said one of the brownies. 

“Black Crown Crow looked very sad, and 
his black wings seemed to droop. ‘It’s that 
guest I never asked. He’s causing all the 
trouble. How very rude it is of folks to 
come to a feast who aren’t invited, and to 
arrive before us, too. It’s very e-x-a-s-p-e-r- 
a-t-i-n-g!’ 

“ ‘Who is he?’ shouted the brownies, for 
every little while Black Crown Crow had 
gone ahead and then had come back. In these 
little trips he had seen right in the center of 
the corn-field a man — a real man, he thought, 
with a hat and a coat and trousers and boots 
— and carrying something which he couldn’t 
quite make out. It was either a great huge 
stick — or worse still — it was a gun. He shiv- 
ered whenever he thought of that awful word 
gun. 

“ ‘Caw-caw,’ again shrieked Black Crown 
Crow, ‘it’s a man and he has a gun — I’m sure 
it’s a gun. Now the rudeness of him! As if 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 63 


we wanted a man and a gun at our corn 
feast!’ 

“ ‘Oh, it was to have been a corn feast, and 
now the man has stopped it,’ laughed one of 
the brownies. ‘Well, such a joke! But to 
show you how nice we’ll be when we’re here 
ready for a party which can’t take place, we’ll 
give a nice party ourselves.’ 

“And the brownies scampered about a lit- 
tle grove near the corn-field, and there they 
made a bonfire over which they cooked some 
corn-meal which they had carried with them 
in their bags. They knew all along, ever 
since they’d started, where the crows wanted 
them to go for the feast, and they also knew 
that the farmer had made that scarecrow in 
his corn-field to frighten off Black Crown 
Crow and his followers. 

“The brownies made a fine feast, but how 
they did chuckle among themselves that the 
pole dressed up as a man had succeeded in 
saving the corn for the people of the farm- 
house.” 


THE BRAVE BROWN SPARROWS 
IN WINTER 




O U know,” said 



L daddy, “I saw such 
a strange thing to-day 
in the city.” 


a 


One Bird Seemed to be 
the Leader. 


“Tell us about it,” 
said Jack. 


“What was it?” asked 


Evelyn, who was always interested in what- 
ever daddy had to say. 

“Well,” continued daddy, “in a tree in the 
park lots and lots of little sparrows were 
roosting. It was, of course, a perfectly bare 
tree without a leaf on it, and they were hud- 
dled together, keeping each other warm. 

“I watched them for quite a time. There 
was one sparrow who looked the leader. He 
did most of the chirping and was apparently 
telling all the others what they must do and 
giving all sorts of directions. He chirped 
almost constantly for ten minutes, and then 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 65 

he flew down from the tree and hopped along 
the ground. He picked up crumb after 
crumb, and then when he had as many as he 
could carry in his beak he flew up in the tree 
again and left them on a branch where there 
was a kind of hole in which to put them. He 
was evidently showing all the other birds just 
what to do, for in a minute or two any num- 
ber of them flew down to the ground and be- 
gan to pick up crumbs. 

“It was wonderful to see how many they 
could find, for I myself could hardly see any, 
and all the time he kept chirping to the others 
and telling them what to do. 

“This kept up for some time, for the birds 
would fly back and forth, just picking up 
goodies and then putting them up in the tree. 
Meantime a lot of other birds who had stayed 
up in the tree were fixing them on the branch 
and dividing them all evenly.” 

“Didn’t they eat any of them?” asked Eve- 
lyn. 

“Yes. After quite awhile they all flew 
back to the tree again, and once more they 
huddled together and had the most mar- 
velous meal. You see, it was their dinner 


66 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


time, and they all had it together at the same 
time to make it more sociable. From all the 
cries of joy and the noise I fancy they were 
having a pretty good time of it and enjoying 
themselves immensely. In fact, I think they 
almost forgot how cold it was.” 

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Evelyn, 
“how well the birds can look after themselves, 
for it must be pretty hard sometimes, espe- 
cially in the winter.” 

“Yes,” said daddy, “it is, but these birds 
seemed so happy together and to be having 
such a good time. After dinner was over 
they all chased each other from one tree to 
another in the park and played tag and had 
a beautiful time. So I think really birds and 
animals are smart and brave to be able to 
look after themselves and their little ones so 
well.” 


WHAT THE RAINBOW THINKS 
OF THE WORLD 


T HE fairies were giving 
a luncheon party for 
the birds, and they wanted 
to have a great, big sur- 
prise,” said daddy. “The 
birds which were invited 
were the robins, the ori- 
oles, the bluejays, the hum 
ming-birds. 

“ ‘Now, birdies,’ said the 
fairy queen, ‘I’m going to 
ask the king of the clouds to this luncheon, so 
we’ll have plenty of delicious rain-water to 
drink.’ 

“Of course, the fairy queen had told the 
king of the clouds that she didn’t want him 
to send his army of raindrops to the earth — 
for an army would make it pour too hard 
and they couldn’t have any fun at the lunch- 
eon. She just wanted some of the big, big 
drops to come down and fill the little stones 
67 



Smacked Their 
Little Beaks. 



68 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


she had at the places for the birds so that they 
could have delicious water at her party — but 
she didn’t want to make it so wet they’d get 
their beautiful feathers drenched — just a nice 
little shower was what she wanted. 

“The king of the clouds had promised, and 
he had told the raindrops just what to do 
and just how many could go down on the 
earth. 

“The birds enjoyed the delicious luncheon 
the fairies gave them, and, of course, they 
loved their fresh drinks of water. 

“ ‘Now for our surprise,’ shouted the 
fairies, after the luncheon was over. ‘We’re 
to have two famous guests to-day. This is to 
be a really real day! And we’re to have them 
both at the same time — and we’re to have 
another treat, too. Guess, birds, what are we 
going to have? Guess, guess, guess!’ For the 
fairies were so excited they kept repeating 
themselves over and over again. 

“But before the birds had time to do more 
than twitter and chirp among themselves as 
to what the great surprise was going to be, 
who should appear, right along with the rain- 
drops, but Mr. Sun, and then over a hill came 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 69 

the most beautiful rainbow with all the 
glorious colors the fairies admire so much. 

“And then you should have heard the sing- 
ing of the birds. Every one of them had a 
glorious voice, and the chorus was the loveli- 
est the fairies had ever heard. As for Mr. 
Sun, he beamed and shone with might and 
main. 

“ Well, hello, raindrops,’ he said. Tm 
mighty glad to see you. It’s not often we 
meet, but the fairy queen can make all of us 
friendly — even the sun and the rain.’ 

“And the raindrops came on down to the 
earth very gently, but without stopping, while 
back of it all the rainbow leaned down over 
the hill and whispered: 

“ ‘Isn’t this a wonderful world? There are 
fairies, birds, the sun, fresh water to drink. 
I’m so glad I am here.’ ” 


EAGLES AND RAVENS 


S OME white-tailed eagles 
were boasting one day 
of their bravery,” com- 
menced daddy. “T hey 
were also saying how fine 
they were in every way 
and that their very name 
meant something splendid 
and free and strong. 

“As a matter of fact, though the white- 
tailed eagles won’t admit it, they are less 
brave than any of the eagle families. 

“The ravens are not kindly at all and they 
love to fight. They had often thought it 
would be great sport to have those ‘silly 
white-tailed eagles,’ as they called them, ad- 
mit that they were not brave and have their 
leader beg for mercy from General Raven. 

“And, as you can imagine, when Brother 
Black Raven heard the eagles boasting he 
70 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 71 

knew it was high time to begin and frighten 
them. 

“So he called all the ravens together. Some 
of them were having their naps, but as soon 
as Brother Black Raven called them, up they 
got in a great hurry, spread their wings and 
drilled a little bit just like soldiers. Only 
instead of marching they flew. 

“As General Raven came near the nest of 
the white-tailed eagles, he said in a very 
queer, croaking sort of voice: 

“‘Good-morning!’ That was rather mean 
of him to say, for, of course, he didn’t really 
wish them a ‘Good-morning.’ 

“ ‘Do you want to fight?’ asked General 
Raven. 

“Still not a sound from the eagles. There 
was a slight fluster and trembling, which the 
ravens could hear and which made them 
grin with delight, but the eagles never said 
a word. They didn’t even look at the ravens! 
For they were so frightened they didn’t dare 
look at them, and they kept thinking, ‘Oh, 
won’t those awful ravens and their ugly old 
general go away?’ The eagles, of course, 


72 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

thought the ravens were very ugly because 
they were so afraid of them. 

“ Tor the last time, do you want to fight 
us, eh?’ asked General Raven. And still the 
eagles said not a word — nor made a sound. 
‘Well, let me say then for all of us,’ said 
General Raven, ‘that we think you’re very 
cowardly, and we heard you talking before 
we came of your bravery. We wouldn’t fight 
you because you’re afraid of us, but you’ll 
have to admit it after this,’ and with a deep 
chuckle off went General Raven and his 
followers. 

“The eagles did not go on boasting, but 
they were very contented that the ravens had 
gone away!” 


THE EAGLES WHO WERE 
ALWAYS STILL 


I N the house where Ken- 
neth lived there was 
a chair which had al- 
ways fascinated him. It 
was a very, very old 
chair, and Kenneth’s 
mother and daddy were 
very proud of it,” said 
daddy to Jack and Eve- 
lyn. “Kenneth’s daddy had bought it at a 
sale of old and curious things. It was a 
Roman chair, and on either side were two 
heads of eagles. These four heads in all 
always made Kenneth wonder, for they 
looked so very life-like. He used to imagine 
that even little wooden eagles must get very 
tired of always being just the same. 

“Really it often made Kenneth quite sad 
to watch them. One afternoon Kenneth went 
73 



74 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


to a party. A little school chum of his had 
given it. It had been a very nice party. But, 
oh, he did feel so tired, for they had played 
blind man’s buff, bull in the ring, squat tag, 
and other games. 

‘When Kenneth came home from the 
party it was not quite his bedtime, but 
secretly in his heart he was hoping it would 
come soon, for he had made up his mind 
that he wasn’t going to bed until his bedtime. 

“He got a book from the library shelf. It 
was full of pictures of sailors and pirates and 
ships, because if anything would keep him 
awake that would. He sat down with it on 
the Roman chair. 

“Strangely enough, though, after a mo- 
ment or two, he didn’t seem to see pirates, 
and the sea began to look very much more 
like the surface of a chair. Soon the pirates 
disappeared entirely, and the four eagles of 
the Roman chair were looking at him stead- 
ily. 

“ ‘You’re terribly tired, aren’t you?’ said 
the first eagle. 

“‘Yes; I’m a little tired,’ Kenneth ad- 
mitted. 



“ ‘we’ve been on this chair so long/ said the fourth eagle.” 

— Page 75 



■ 

. 







* 




























• i; 
















DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 75 

“ Well, you’re not as tired as we are,’ said 
the second eagle. 

“ ‘No, indeed!’ said the third eagle. ‘You’re 
only tired because you’ve played so many 
games. We’re tired because we’re always 
still.’ 

“Kenneth listened eagerly, because he’d so 
often thought just what he was hearing. ‘Yes,’ 
said Kenneth very sympathetically; ‘I should 
think you would be very dull. I’ve often 
thought that. Have you been there a long 
time?’ 

“‘Oh, ages and ages!’ replied the fourth 
eagle, who up to this time hadn’t spoken. 
‘We were very old before your daddy got us. 
We’ve been on this chair so long. We can’t 
remember how long. And what makes us 
feel so sad is that we are called eagles and 
should fly and yet are forever glued to this 
chair.’ 

“ ‘Kenneth, Kenneth,’ cried Kenneth’s 
mother, ‘it’s long past bedtime!’ 

“ ‘Oh, I am not so tired as the eagles are!’ 
said Kenneth. And Kenneth’s mother won- 
dered if he was talking in his sleep.” 


THE BOBOLINKS HAVE A 
TEA PARTY 


T HE other day,” com- 
menced daddy, “the 
bobolinks had an afternoon 
tea. 

“The tea party was 
given for the meadow 
larks. The bobolinks are 
great friends of the mea- 
dow larks and they wanted 
to be the first this season to entertain them. 
Besides, most of the bobolinks had new sum- 
mer homes and their colony was near a beau- 
tiful stream. 

“You know the bobolinks always build 
their homes in the meadows — but they build 
very near a stream and their homes are al- 
ways deep down in the long grass. 

“They had all come to live in Waving 
Grassland for the summer — that is, all the 
bobolinks who always moved about together 
76 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 77 

in the summer and winter — and many of their 
friends, the meadow larks, were on hand 
to greet them. A number of others were 
going to arrive in a few days — before the tea 
party. 

“Now Waving Grassland was very beauti- 
ful country. The meadows were very large 
and the grass was so beautiful and so long 
that it always waved in the soft breezes, so 
that the bobolinks named their new summer 
place Waving Grassland. 

“And so the bobolinks made all their prep- 
arations for the tea party. The guests ar- 
rived dressed up in their best new summer 
plumage. The meadow larks came first, as 
they were the guests of honor. 

“The red-breasted grosbeak family were 
all there looking too lovely for words. And 
the bluejays, downy woodpeckers, the orioles, 
the thrush family, the chipping sparrows, the 
robins, the indigo birds — and even the shy 
vireos ventured forth. Of course, usually 
they hate parties, but they loved the stream 
nearby and the beautiful country the bobo- 
links were living in, and they thought at least 
once a year they ought to be a little bit so- 


78 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


ciable and friendly with their neighbors. 

“After they had all chatted together — 
to us it would have sounded more like chirp- 
ing — the bobolinks began to serve tea. 

“They had spring water for their tea — the 
water from the cool stream which had a deep 
spring within it. And this tea they served 
in little moss-covered stones. That gave it 
the most delicious flavor, and all the birds 
asked the bobolinks where they had found 
such good tea. You know in birdland they 
don’t ask each other where anything is 
bought, but where it is found! And the bobo- 
links told their secret. 

“But as they were drinking cup after cup 
— or stoneful after stoneful — of tea, who 
should arrive but all the fairies! 

“The birds greeted the fairies with their 
best songs — or their way of saying ‘We’re so 
glad to see you’ — and the bobolinks trilled 
with joy because they had arranged this love- 
ly surprise for their guests.” 


A HAPPY DAY IN BIRDLAND 


HE birds,” said daddy, “found a new 



1 room for breakfast. It was in a row 
of bushes — and the bushes were berry bushes. 

“One day as they were having the best sort 
of a time eating, who should look down at 
them but the king of the clouds. He looked 
quite dark and solemn. 

“ ‘Te-wit,’ said one little bird, and another 
said, 

“ Tr-r-r-i-1-1.’ 

“ ‘How about some water to drink?’ asked 
the king of the clouds. ‘Some nice, fresh 
water?’ 

“The birds began chirping for all they 
were worth. The grown-ups said, ‘Listen to 
the noise the birds are making. It must be 
going to rain — they’re crying for water.’ 

“And sure enough, they were begging the 
king of the clouds to send some of his army 
of raindrops down to the earth. 


79 


80 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“ ‘Please, please, please, Cloud King, send 
us rain-water,’ chirped the birds. 

“ ‘All right,’ roared the cloud king. ‘I 
will.’ 

“ ‘But we don’t want thunder,’ said the 
birds. ‘We want to stay out, and we’re afraid 
of thunder. Won’t you send us a good old- 
fashioned shower?’ 

“And the cloud king called, ‘Raindrops, 
raindrops, come and patter down to the 
earth. But gently, little raindrops. And 
when you see the beak of a little bird open, 
one small raindrop must walk inside.’ 

“Down came the raindrops very softly and 
gently to the earth. 

“ ‘Children,’ called Mother Robin, ‘come 
for your baths in these hollow stones. They’re 
filled with water.’ 

“All around the mother birds were calling 
the little ones to their baths. 

“ ‘Oh,’ said one little robin as he ducked 
his head into the water, and then shook all 
over and spattered it about, ‘how nice a bath 
does feel.’ 

“The cloud king looked so bright and 
happy, that the mother birds were afraid it 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 81 


would stop raining. ‘Don’t stop, Cloud 
King,’ they chirped. 

“ ‘I won’t,’ said the cloud king. And the 
birds twittered and sang and wet their little 
throats with the delicious rain-water. 

“After the cloud king and his army of 
raindrops had been working for quite a long 
time, one of the birds noticed that the new 
breakfast room in the berry bushes was get- 
ting very wet. 

“ ‘It will spoil our berries for breakfast, 
I’m afraid,’ he said. 

“But the berries whispered back, 

“‘No; we like the rain too. We needed 
some water to drink. And more of us will 
come to-morrow. Your breakfast will be 
better than ever.’ 

“So all day long the rain kept up gently. 
When it was almost bedtime who should ap- 
pear but old Mr. Sun. 

“ ‘Shall I dry your little feathers?’ he said 
to the birds. 

“And every little bird in birdland was 
warm and dry and happy when he tucked his 
head under his wing that night.” 


THE ROBINS’ SPRING CONCERT 


ripHE robins gave their 
JL spring concert the other 
morning for the fairies,” 
said daddy. “They give 
one every year just after 
most of their family have 
arrived for the summer. 
It is one of the biggest 
events of the spring in 
fairyland, and they are so excited about it for 
days ahead that they can talk about nothing 
else. They’ve practised so hard and so long 
lately that the day has been quite far gone 
many a time, when some little robin has been 
trying over and over again some important 
trill which he was going to sing alone. 

“But the concert was given just at dawn. 
Mr. Sun came out for it, looking as fine as 
any king with a very dazzling golden crown 
on his head. Then the dew-drops came and 
82 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 83 


had reserved seats on the little blades of 
grass. Some of the early butterflies were in- 
vited, and the little spring garden flowers 
opened their sleepy eyes and waved about, 
keeping time with the music. 

“First of all was the grand opening chorus. 
Mr. Robin Redbreast had a little stick with 
which he beat time, and all the robins sang 
a fine song which he had made up himself. 

“Then came the solos. Miss Robin Red- 
breast sang a beautiful song all by herself. 

“Then two little brother robins sang a 
song together — they called it a ‘duet/ which 
was very funny. They acted as they sang, 
and made all the fairies and the other guests 
at the concert laugh hard. 

“But best of all was the band. It was a 
new band the robins had just started, and they 
were very proud of it. It was a great sur- 
prise to the fairies, for they didn’t know the 
robins had a band. As you can guess, the 
robins had worked hard for a big surprise 
for the fairies. Ten little robins played the 
drums, which were tiny twigs from the ap- 
ple tree. There were little spring leaves 
through which some of the others whistled 


84 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


tunes, and the rest played on horn-shaped 
flowers. 

“After the concert was finished and the 
fairies had clapped and clapped and waved 
their wands with delight, and the little robins 
had bowed and bowed — and fallen down, 
sometimes making too low bows — they all 
had breakfast. Such a breakfast! The most 
luscious of worms were given the little robins 
and a special dish was made for the fairies 
of spring porridge, which Grandmother 
Robin had made, and which the fairies 
called ‘Delicious.’ ” 


THE CROWS AT THE 
FAIRIES’ BALL 

^TT^HE fairies had one of 
A their fine balls just two 
evenings ago,” said daddy. 

“Among their guests 
were the brownies, elves, 
gnomes, many of the birds, 
butterflies, humming-birds, 
red lizards, grasshoppers, 
and crickets. The crickets 
had arranged to sing for the dancing and the 
humming-birds said they would hum the 
tunes all the time that the crickets sang. The 
robins sang some extra songs, and, of course, 
the other birds joined in the chorus. 

“Then came supper time. The table was 
made of daisies and moss, and such delicacies! 
Well, it would have made your mouth water! 

“They had the goodies that every guest 
would enjoy most. Not a guest was for- 
gotten. There were even little worms for the 
85 



86 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


birds — and the other guests didn’t mind at 
all, as they knew the robins and orioles and 
other bird guests loved little worms. They 
were given to the birds in special dishes made 
of grass. 

“But just as all the guests sat down to sup- 
per the fairy queen said: ‘Come, all my 
fine waiters!’ And as she said this she waved 
her wand high in the air. 

“Then from far and near the blackest 
of black crows flew down and alighted all 
around the table. They had promised the 
fairy queen to be just as good as good could 
be, and to wait on all the guests before they 
had anything at all to eat. They were quite 
willing to do this, for they had never been 
invited to a ball given by the fairies before 
and they were highly flattered. 

“They all had had their black suits pol- 
ished and brushed with the greatest care and 
they wore very fine aprons and hats made of 
green leaves. Every time a guest said ‘Thank 
you’ when anything was passed, a crow would 
say, ‘Caw-caw,’ which means ‘You’re wel- 
come.’ 

“The crows always say ‘Caw-caw’ to al- 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 87 


most everything, but it is just the tone they 
use that makes the ‘Caw-caw’ mean some- 
thing quite different each time they want it 
to. At the end of the supper, after the crows 
had had a feast, too, the fairy queen asked 
them if they wouldn’t sing the old, old song 
about blackbirds being baked in a pie. 

“At first the crows looked a bit sad, but 
then they said: ‘Why, of course, we’ll be 
happy to sing it. It’s lots of fun to sing about 
such things after we have had a feast and 
know quite well that the fairy queen 
wouldn’t bake us in a pie.’ 

“How the guests did laugh to hear the 
crows singing about blackbirds being baked 
in a pie — and stopping every minute to shout 
out, ‘Not us, though, oh, no!’ — and the fairy 
queen was delighted.” 


THE NAUGHTY LITTLE SICK 
SNOWBIRD 


D ADDY had been en- 
couraging Jack and 
Evelyn to feed the little 
birds that came outside 
the window. So one 
evening when it was 
time for their story he 
told them about the 
Christmas a little snow- 
bird had had the year before. 

“He was a very self-willed little fellow,” 
commenced daddy, “and he thought no one 
knew so much about life as he did. During 
the autumn he had become very chummy 
with the sparrows. His daddy and mother 
didn’t like that much, as they were afraid 
he would become as rude and noisy as the 
sparrows were. 

“When the cold weather came the snow- 
birds decided to leave, but the little wilful 



The Bird Began to 
Recover. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 89 


snowbird was nowhere to be found. Where 
could he have gone?’ asked Mother Snow- 
bird, and daddy said, ‘Oh, probably he left 
this morning with the robins and wrens, for 
I saw him playing with them!’ That eased 
Mother Snowbird’s fears, and off they started. 

“When the little snowbird saw that his 
family had flown away he came out from his 
hiding-place. He really felt a little home- 
sick and was sorry he hadn’t gone, too; but, 
of course, he didn’t dare admit it, for the 
sparrows had told him only stupid children 
were obedient. They admired his naughty 
disobedience and thought it was a great joke 
to worry his family. 

“A few weeks went by, and the days be- 
came colder and colder. One night he felt 
so cold and so unhappy that he flew away 
from the sparrows, expecting to die any mo- 
ment. 

“The next morning he was found, half 
dead, by a little girl. She took him in her 
house, warmed his frozen feet and fed him 
bits of crumbs and drops of water. Slowly 
he began to recover. 

“It was the day before Christmas, and he 


go DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

was perched on the window-sill in the sun, 
when, to his huge joy, he saw Daddy and 
Mother Snowbird outside the window. He 
flew against the window-glass. The little girl 
came rushing into the room to see what the 
trouble was. She was sure from his joyous 
actions that the other two snowbirds were his 
daddy and mother, so she opened the window, 
and the little bird flew out. 

“ ‘Oh, dear, we’ve been so frightened!’ said 
Mother Snowbird. 

“ ‘Yes,’ said Daddy Snowbird; ‘we’ve been 
on ever so many trips looking for you, but 
now we’ll hurry down home and fly fast, so 
as not to get cold, and then we’ll be there in 
time for Christmas day. All the little birds 
will be there waiting for the Christmas 
party.’ 

“You may be quite sure the little snowbird 
never had a happier Christmas, and he real- 
ized that the older birds knew what was best 
for him.” 


A SPARROW CALLS ON A 
HIPPOPOTAMUS 


T HE hippopotamus who 
lived in the zoo had a 
very strange caller the 
other day,” said daddy. 

“Into the animal house 
flew a sparrow. The keep- 
er called out to him: 

“ ‘Where are you going, 
sparrow?’ But the sparrow 
did not answer. He flew 
right through the animal 
house until he reached Mr. 
Hippopotamus’ cage. Mr. 
Hippopotamus was having 
his bath, and he would not be interrupted. 

“The sparrow was rather annoyed that Mr. 
Hippopotamus didn’t want to come right out 
of the water to talk to him, and he scolded 
from his perch on the wire of the cage. There 
he sat scolding away, and the hippopotamus 
9i 



Mr. Hippopotamus 
Was Having 
His Bath. 


92 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

kept on splashing and spluttering as he took 
his bath. 

“Soon the hippopotamus came up from 
the water and sat in the corner of his cage, 
and the sparrow hopped over to a wire a lit- 
tle nearer. 

“ ‘Mr. Sparrow, I am sorry to be late for 
your call,’ said the hippopotamus, ‘but the 
truth is I wanted to look my best.’ And his 
great, long, funny old face grinned, and he 
showed his big teeth. 

“ ‘That’s all right,’ cheerfully chirped the 
sparrow. ‘I have plenty of time to-day. My 
family have gone a-shopping for bread 
crumbs which they find every day in a cer- 
tain back-yard. And I have nothing to do. 
I’ve come to tell you the news of the world 
outside.’ 

“So the sparrow told Mr. Hippopotamus 
all about the wild scampers the sparrows had 
been having. He told about their quarrels 
and how they had made up again. And he 
bragged about their friends and relations, the 
song sparrows, who had been very friendly 
this year. 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 93 

“When Mr. Sparrow began to be boastful, 
the old hippopotamus said: 

“ ‘You think I’m finer than my cousins in 
that cage over there?’ And Mr. Hippopota- 
mus pointed to some other members of his 
family. They were very much smaller and 
their coats looked just like chocolate. ‘And,’ 
he went on, ‘when the children see those silly 
cousins of mine they always say, “Why, they 
look just like tins of chocolate taffy left to 
cool.” They never can say anything quite so 
stupid about me.’ 

“ ‘Well,’ said Mr. Sparrow, ‘I must be off 
now, as it’s time the bread crumbs and the 
family were coming home.’ He spoke about 
the bread crumbs first, you notice. ‘But I’ll 
come and see you soon again, old hippo,’ and 
the little sparrow flew off.” 


THE ROBINS COME TO THE 
RESCUE 


r HE honeysuckles were 
beginning to bud. Al- 
ready the humming-birds 
were hovering near and 
had built a nest right in 
the heart of the vine. This 
vine was in a nice old- 
Savin fU he Da"i:r Birds fashioned garden, but 
near by there was a va- 
cant lot which was very swampy. 

“You know the garden by the vacant lot?” 
began daddy. 

“Yes,” replied both children, “are you go- 
ing to tell us a story about that garden?” 

“I am going to tell you,” said daddy, 
“about the mother humming-bird whose little 
ones were attacked by a cruel snake when 
they were rescued by the brave robins. 

“The snake had come over from the vacant 
field and had crawled up the honeysuckle 
94 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 95 

vine as the mother humming-bird had gone 
off for some food. Some robins hovering 
near had seen the awful snake. They had 
cried out in terror and had flown over to the 
nest. 

“The mother humming-bird heard the 
cries and hurried back, but the robins had 
frightened off the snake. The snake was not 
a very large one, and really he had been 
frightened by all the noise the robins had 
made, and when he saw so many birds flying 
toward him he got away very quickly. 

“The mother humming-bird got back just 
as the snake was leaving the nest. 

“She couldn’t thank the robins enough for 
flying to the rescue and saving her beloved 
little ones, but the robins didn’t want any 
thanks. They were thankful, too, that the 
dear little birds had been saved, for birds are 
very loyal to one another and will risk any 
danger to save each other.” 

“I am so glad,” said Evelyn, “that the little 
humming-birds were saved, for I love to see 
them having such a good time in the honey- 
suckle vines, and the more there are of them 
the nicer it makes the summer seem.” 


96 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“It was brave of the robins to come to the 
rescue, though, wasn’t it, daddy?” 

“Indeed it was,” said daddy; “but almost 
all animals and birds will do anything they 
can to help one another, and they seem to 
forget that there is such a thing as being 
afraid if they see any creature in danger or 
distress. 

“After the mother humming-bird had re- 
covered from the awful fright, and after the 
little ones had shown that they were perfectly 
well and strong, with no ill effects from their 
fright, the mother humming-bird invited the 
robins to partake of the delicious meal she 
had succeeded in getting before the cries 
came from the robins.” 



“the mother humming-bird hurried back.” — Page 95 




























* 





















































MR. AND MRS. OWL’S STOREROOM 


^pWO owls,” commenced 
X daddy, “lived in a soft 
feathered nest in the big 
woods. After a time they 
got a little tired of talking 
and scolding and hunting 
and midnight parties, so 
Mrs. Owl, who was al- 
ways saving odds and ends, 
thought it would make them very rich and 
happy if they had a store. 

“ ‘What,’ said Mr. Owl, ‘a store?’ 

“ Wes,’ replied Mrs. Owl, as she smoothed 
her feathers and polished her back with a 
bit of bark. ‘It will be not only a store, but 
a supper-room.’ 

“ ‘Whatever do you mean?’ said Mr. Owl. 

“ ‘You know,’ continued Mrs. Owl, ‘that 
in the world where people live they have 
parties. There is nothing new about that. 
Don’t we have parties? Yes.’ 

97 



Waited on All 
Who Came. 


98 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“Mrs. Owl always answered all her own 
questions when she had something most im- 
portant to say, and when she did not want 
to have anyone interrupt her or disagree 
with her. 

“ ‘And so, if we have parties in the woods, 
think what a great help it will be to all the 
wood animals and the fairies and brownies 
and gnomes if we have a supper-room at- 
tached to our store — where after the parties 
the wood creatures can come and have sup- 
per.’ 

“Mr. Owl sat up very straight and said, 
‘To-wit, to-who,’ or it sounded very much 
like that. What he meant was that he thought 
it an excellent scheme. And he went on to 
tell Mrs. Owl that she could fix up all the 
dishes for the supper and decorate the tables 
— and he would go forth and hunt for the 
good things to eat. 

“The store was started right away. The 
animals came to buy their things in the day- 
time — and as Mr. and Mrs. Owl were asleep 
they would simply take them away and not 
pay for them at the time. 

“That didn’t bother Mr. and Mrs. Owl 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 99 

at all, though. They wanted to have such a 
fine store that all their things would be taken, 
and they left notes for the little animals say- 
ing: 

“ ‘Take all you like. We must sleep and 
think up more wonderful things to do for 
you. As for pay — we don’t want it. We’re 
already to be envied for our knowledge. We 
don’t even have to go to school — and are al- 
ways cleverer than those who do go!’ 

“The animals were much amused at the 
conceit of Mr. and Mrs. Owl, but they had 
to admit that their store was a great success. 
And as for their supper-room — it was per- 
fect! 

“Every evening it was very gay, with the 
chatter of many of the wood animals and the 
fairies, after different parties and frolics. 
Mrs. Owl made the most delicious goodies, 
and always made the tables look very attrac- 
tive with wild flowers. 

“As for Mr. Owl, he put on a big white 
apron and a white hat and waited on all who 
came to the supper-room, and often he would 
make wise, wise speeches for the benefit of 
all around him.” 


POLLY WAS THE HEROINE 
OF THE FIRE 



IJ 


*ACK and Evelyn had 
been to see a friend of 
theirs who owned a par- 
rot. The parrot, whose 


» V Ik I ^ ivv name ’ °f course, was 
1%LJV Polly, had completely 
shrieked at the Top fascinated the m. She 


could dance when a tune 


was whistled, she took sugar from her mis- 
tress’s mouth, and she could talk. She could 
say: “Pretty Polly,” “Polly, want a cracker?” 
“Polly hungry,” “Polly, want a bite?” 

So when daddy came home that evening, 
of course Jack and Evelyn told him all about 
the parrot, and later he told them a story 
about another parrot. 

“In a small town,” said daddy, “a little girl 
named Alice owned a pet parrot who was 
very clever. This parrot could talk a great 
deal and say ever so much more than just 


100 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES ioi 


Tolly, want a cracker?’ This Polly could 
whistle, too, most beautifully, and could do 
a great, great many wonderful tricks. Of 
course, as you can imagine, Alice was very 
proud of her parrot, and Polly was devoted 
to Alice. 

“One night when every one in the town 
was fast asleep a fire broke out in a deserted 
barn, and, as there was a high wind, it began 
to spread. The house nearest the fire was 
the one in which Alice lived, and Polly Par- 
rot was the first to smell the smoke. She 
shrieked at the top of her lungs, Tire, firel’ 
and the whole household came rushing down- 
stairs and found the library, where Polly was, 
full of smoke. 

“They put on coats and, grabbing Polly’s 
cage, rushed out of the house as quickly as 
they could, for the flames were beginning to 
break through on all sides. Alice’s daddy 
rushed off to ring the fire bell, while Alice, 
carrying her Polly Parrot, and her mother 
followed along. Soon every one in the town 
was up and out in the street. The firemen 
managed to keep the fire from spreading, and 


102 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


they saved all the valuable things in Alice’s 
home. 

“As everyone stood around watching the 
firemen throwing the water on the fire Polly 
kept calling out: ‘It’s pretty hot! It’s pretty 
hot! I tell you it’s pretty hot!’ That amused 
everyone, so that it kept up their spirits dur- 
ing the awful fire. 

“At last, however, the firemen succeeded in 
putting the fire out, and one of the neighbors 
invited Alice and her mother and daddy to 
stay at her house, and, of course, Polly Parrot 
went along too. 

“Polly was now not only considered a very 
clever bird, but a real heroine, for she had 
awakened Alice and her family and saved 
their lives and also the lives of many others, 
for with such a wind many houses would 
have gone had not the firemen been called 
out just when they were. 

“Instead of being vain about it, Polly Par- 
rot acted as though her one pride was that 
Alice was more devoted to her than ever.” 


THE WINTER HOME FOR THE 
WREN FAMILY 


V NUMBER of little 
boys living in a small 
town were very much 
interested in carpentry,” 
said daddy. “They made 
boxes and chairs and 
tables and all sorts of 
things. 

“They had a nice tool 
shop in an unused barn belonging to the 
daddy of one of the little boys. 

“In the late autumn one of the little boys, 
who was very fond of birds and especially so 
of the house wren, suggested that they should 
build some little bird houses under the low 
roof of the barn. 

“So all the little boys helped because they 
thought it was such a nice plan.” 

“What is a house wren?” inquired Evelyn. 
“A house wren,” said daddy, “shows his 
103 



<>(%<««** 

All the Little Boys 
Helped. 


104 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


difference from other wrens by having black 
and gray lines on his brown back. His tiny 
tail points upward and his breast is grayish 
white. He is very friendly and loves to keep 
the same home. 

“Now, the boys had noticed that one fam- 
ily of wrens had built a nest on the side of 
this same barn two summers. They had flown 
away when the cold weather came each time. 

“The boys built a fine little house with 
great care and watched to see if the wrens 
would go to it. And, sure enough, they did! 
Apparently they thought it was a beautiful 
house, although they, of course, wished to 
furnish it in their own way.” 

“How did they furnish it?” asked Jack. 

“They filled it with twigs, and in the cen- 
ter of the house they put masses of dried grass 
and twigs. 

“The boys were interested watching the 
wrens, and the wrens seemed perfectly happy. 
There were no sparrows near by. They saw 
that the boys were friendly, and they found 
the wooden house kept out the cold air. 

“Week after week passed, and still the 
wrens didn’t show any desire to move to a 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 105 


warmer place. On the very coldest day they 
would come out, flit about, hop and bow, and 
be as energetic as possible. 

“Of course the boys never touched the 
house after they’d built it, for the wrens then 
would have left, and the wrens made their 
front door so small that a sparrow couldn’t 
possibly have gone inside and bothered the 
little ones. 

“You can imagine how delighted the boys 
were; and to keep the wrens from feeling 
homesick for a warmer home, each day they’d 
scatter crumbs around near the wrens’ home, 
then watch the wrens hop down and take 
them up to the nest, and the wrens seemed to 
be very happy when they saw the boys. They 
acted as if they knew and appreciated that 
the boys had built them such a fine home.” 


THE VAIN GOLDFINCH LEARNS 
A LESSON 



He Hid His Face 
in Shame. 


M r. goldfinch,” 

said daddy, “was very 
conceited and proud of 
himself. To be sure, a 
goldfinch’s voice is very 
much like a canary’s — but 
it’s not quite so lovely — 
and he can’t do the won- 
derful trills a canary can 
without his voice cracking. 
Of course, that isn’t beautiful. 

“So the fairy queen made plans. First of 
all, she asked the birds to give her a concert, 
and gladly they all said they would. 

“And the next day, on a row along the 
fence of an old country road, near the woods, 
perched all the bullfinch family, the oriole 
family, the bluejay family, the indigo bird 
family, and the goldfinch family. 

“First of all they all sang in a beautiful 
106 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 107 

chorus, and the fairy queen and all the fairies 
were delighted. 

“Before long the elves happened along by 
the old fence, and they said : 

“ ‘What’s up? A concert? May we stay?’ 

“ ‘By all means,’ said the fairy queen, and 
then she whispered to the elves her secret. 
The elves sat along the opposite fence and 
perched on the fence between some of the 
birds, too. 

“When the birds had finished singing in 
the chorus and were not supposed to sing by 
themselves, they flew to the wings of the 
fairies and perched there. 

“You can imagine how lovely the fairies 
did look, with their bright silver wings, and 
the beautiful birds with their bright colors 
perched everywhere on the wings. 

“ ‘Now,’ said the fairy queen, ‘remember 
what I’ve asked for.’ 

“At that Mr. Bullfinch came out and sang 
in his sweet little way. He didn’t try to sing 
anything very big or hard, but he sang a lit- 
tle, simple song, in the very best way he could. 

“Soon Mr. Goldfinch came out to sing his 
solo. At first his song was very fine and all 


108 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

the other birds cried, ‘Bravo/ ‘Wonderful/ 
‘Gorgeous/ at the end of the first verse. And 
they all sang these words in their own little 
bird ways. 

“But at the beginning of the second verse 
Mr. Goldfinch tried to sing a trill that was 
too hard for him. 

“And what do you suppose happened? Mr. 
Goldfinch’s voice cracked, and all the birds 
tittered and flew off the fence, chatting with 
each other. 

“ ‘Well, wasn’t that a disgrace — and at the 
fairy queen’s concert, tool’ 

“As for Mr. Goldfinch, he hid his head in 
shame and felt very wretched, but the fairy 
queen waved her wand, and said to every 
one: ‘This concert was given so Mr. Gold- 
finch would learn to be natural and not try 
things beyond him. We all like you as you 
are, without silly, vain actions — sing us a sim- 
ple song now, and we’ll forgive you!’ 

“So Mr. Goldfinch learned he mustn’t try 
to copy the canary.” 


THE BATS HAVE A JOLLIFICATION 



How the Bats do 
Love the Night! 


T HE bats are all so glad 
the summer has come,” 
said daddy. “For a long, 
long time they have been 
staying in the caves and 
hiding away in the tops of 
the corners and crevices. 
But last night they had 
their first real jollification. 
“One of the bats had said it was high time 
to go out into the world, but another bat had 
said it was still too chilly. Then a bat said: 

“ ‘Well, what have we wings for?’ And 
after that it was decided that they should 
be off. 

“They waited until it began to grow dark 
— and then some of the ones who hadn’t been 
sleeping very well got up and flew about a 
little while. 

“Then the others who had been sound 
109 


110 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

asleep woke up just as it became very, very 
dark. Oh, how the bats do love the night! 
They love it just as much as the birds love 
the daytime and the sun. For, though bats 
have wings, they are not at all like birds and 
they aren’t in the least friendly with any of 
them. 

“So off they started on the jollification. 
First they whizzed through the air practising 
their different ways of flying. And after they 
had all the strength back into their wings, 
they reached the garden of an old, deserted 
house, where they stopped for the rest of the 
night. 

“There they told stories and chatted and 
chatted. For they had a great deal to say 
after their long sleep, and they ran races, and 
did tricks, and frightened people they saw 
coming along the road. 

“They would get so near that each person 
would say: 

“ ‘Oh, dear me, I must cover up my head 
or that bat will get caught in my hair.’ 

“The bats thought that was a great joke, 
as they had no intentions of caging themselves 
up in someone’s hair when they could be at 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 111 


the jollification. But they did enjoy playing 
pranks on the grownups. 

“And soon, much too soon, daylight came. 

“But what do you suppose happened? Such 
a wonderful ending to their jollification! 
Didn’t those thoughtful little brownies, who 
had known all about the bats’ jollification — 
and feeling rather sorry for the bats because 
they don’t have such very good times — send 
some magic air-boats which picked up the 
sleepy bats as they flew along. Then they 
were carried back to their cold, hard beds in 
the crevices of the rocks — which they thought 
were so comfortable! 

“And as they crept into bed, there were 
never so many happy bats and pleased bats 
as these were at having had air-boats bring 
them home from their jollification!” 


THE REPENTANCE OF LITTLE 
JIM CROW 


ITTLE Jim Crow had 
- 4 been very naughty,” be- 
gan daddy. “He had been 
bullying Sammy Crow for 
some time past simply be- 
cause Sammy was not so 
large and not so strong as 
he was. Jim Crow was 
quite a leader, too, in a very mean way, for 
he’d tried to influence a lot of other little 
crows to think it was smart to tease Sammy. 

“Well, one day Jim got hold of Sammy 
and ducked his head into a brook of very 
cold water, where the ice had only recently 
melted. 

“Poor Sammy was so frightened he almost 
cried his eyes out, while Jim stood by and 
laughed and laughed. But Sammy was far 
from being strong, and the cold water made 
his head throb and ache, while his bones felt 
112 



DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 113 

numb and his feathers lost their nice shiny 
look. He complained so much for several 
days of his head that his family sent for old 
Dr. Crow. 

“Dr. Crow was a fine physician. He wore 
great big spectacles, and, oh, he was so kind! 
When he saw Sammy he became very much 
alarmed. 

“ ‘Why didn’t you tell me of this sooner?’ 
said he. 

“ ‘Oh, what’s the matter?’ asked Sammy’s 
mother. ‘Is he really very ill? We thought 
he had a little cold.’ 

“Dr. Crow took from his black medicine- 
bag a little thermometer and put it in Sam- 
my’s mouth and at the same time felt his 
pulse. Then he pulled the thermometer out. 
He looked very grave. 

“ ‘Mrs. Crow,’ said he to Sammy’s mother, 
‘his temperature is very high, and he must be 
put right to bed. Put his feet in mustard and 
hot water and bathe his head every three 
hours with witch hazel, and I’ll call around 
again this evening to see him.’ 

“ ‘Oh, you don’t think he is going to die, 
doctor?’ 


ii4 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


“ ( I think he’ll live, but he is pretty sick 
and needs great care.’ 

“After Dr. Crow left Sammy he went to 
Jim Crow’s mother and daddy. He was very 
angry at what had been done to Sammy. 
When Jim’s mother and daddy saw Dr. Crow 
coming toward their nest they were afraid 
Jim had been doing something awfully 
naughty, for he had stayed home very little 
the past few days, and they suspected some- 
thing had happened. 

“At that moment Jim flew in boisterously, 
and the doctor told him how ill Sammy was 
and of what he had done. 

“For some days Sammy lay at the point 
of death, but with Dr. Crow’s skill he finally 
got well. 

“And Jim Crow, who had felt like a mur- 
derer, became a good crow and realized it 
was very, very cruel to tease any one smaller 
and weaker than himself.” 


THE RESCUE OF THE 
CANARY BIRD 


I AM going to tell you a 

really true story,” said 

daddy, “something which 

happened to-day. I was 

walking along a rather 

poor part of the city when 

She Watched the I saw a number of chil- 
Little Bird. . , , . 

dren gathered in a group 
in a little side yard of a tenement house. The 
children were screaming to one boy: ‘Oh, 
catch him ! Don’t let the awful cat get him !’ ” 
“Oh, was it a bird?” asked Jack eagerly. 
“Yes,” replied daddy; “it was a bird, but 
not just the usual kind of bird that is seen 
around city streets, for only the sparrows like 
the noise of a city. Most birds like the 
woods and the country, where they can have 
homes in the trees and can sing all day long. 

“But this was a tame yellow canary who 
had flown out of an open window to pick up 
ny 




n6 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 


some goodies he saw on the ground, and a 
cat was after him.” 

“Did they get him from the cat?” asked 
Evelyn eagerly, for she was devoted to ani- 
mals and perhaps especially to birds. 

“Yes,” answered daddy; “the little boy suc- 
ceeded in rescuing him, but the poor canary 
had been so frightened that his little heart 
was beating, oh, so fast, and the children 
were afraid he was not going to live. 

“They all followed the little boy who had 
caught the canary just in time into the tene- 
ment house. The cat had knocked several 
feathers from the bird’s tail. 

“Another child told me the canary be- 
longed to a little girl who lived in the tene- 
ment. He asked me to follow, too, for he 
said that the little girl had trouble with her 
back and had to lie flat all the time. She 
loved visitors, for so much of the time she 
was lonely. Her mother was poor and out 
all day sewing, so the little girl’s only com- 
panion was the canary, who would sing for 
hours and hours. He seemed to know he 
must keep her cheered up. 

“So along I went too. We climbed some 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 117 


stairs until we came to a dingy room where 
on a cot by the window lay a little girl about 
eight years old. She had big dark eyes, and 
when I saw her her cheeks were bright red 
from all the excitement. 

“All her friends had gathered around, each 
giving her a special description of how the 
bird had been rescued. She was smiling with 
joy and watching the bird, who was now busi- 
ly engaged nibbling at a little piece of apple 
which had been given him. Before long he 
began to sing, oh, so joyously, for he knew he 
was once more back in his happy home, where 
he would take good care to stay in the future. 

“I told the little girl of my Jack and Eve- 
lyn, and she said she wanted to see you both. 
Shall we all go to see her and her little bird 
some day?” 

“We’d love to!” cried Jack and Evelyn 
delightedly. 


SMALL FIRE DEPARTMENT 
RESCUES BIRDS 


r HE salamanders,” said 
daddy, “are little crea- 
tures very much like liz- 
ards in looks, except their 
skin is not scaly as a liz- 
ard’s. They have four legs 
and a tail, and are very nice, 
kind and gentle. 

“Well, these salamanders 
agreed that they would have 
a fire department, and the 
next thing was to arrange 
for the hose and ladder. 
Finally it was decided that their salamander 
cousins should be chosen to run the hose and 
ladder. 

“ ‘We shall call ourselves the fire and 
water fire department,’ said one of the fire 
salamanders. ‘It will be our business to rush 
in and rescue the animals who are in danger 
118 



“We 


have our 
hose ready.” 


DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 119 

of being burned to death, and it will be your 
business to help them down to the brook, 
where we’ll have our hose ready to sprinkle 
them with good, cool water.’ 

“But days and days went by, and still no 
fire broke out. 

“ ‘I know what’s the trouble,’ said another 
one of the fire salamanders. ‘We have no 
fire bell; there may have been fires that we 
knew nothing of ; you never can tell.’ 

“ ‘Don’t be gloomy,’ said still another fire 
salamander. ‘We’ll have a fire bell. I know 
where a kind old cow left her bell from last 
year. We’ll put it by the stump just at the 
edge of the brook and all the animals can be 
told to move it when there is a fire. Then 
we will all come out and stop the fire.’ 

“And soon notices were put up all over the 
woods and around the brook which read : 

“ ‘To the Animals: Attention! In case of 
fire, ring the cow bell by the brook. The 
Fire and Water Fire Department of the Sala- 
manders will PUT IT OUT.’ 

“These notices were read by all the ani- 
mals, and the very next day the salamanders 
heard the cow bell. 


120 DADDY’S BEDTIME BIRD STORIES 

“ ‘Where’s the fire?’ they all shouted. 

“ ‘Over there,’ said Grandfather Frog, who 
was watching the fire department start off. 

“They wiggled and crawled as quickly as 
they could to the spot where the fire was. It 
was the vireo family’s nest. You know the 
vireos are those beautiful, shy birds that live 
in the woods and have such lovely voices. 
The fire salamanders rushed right into the 
fire and pulled out of the nest the vireo chil- 
dren just in time before their little feathers 
got burnt. And, of course, the Mother and 
Daddy Vireo were able to fly out. 

“When they all reached the brook at last, 
the Mother and Daddy Vireo sang the most 
wonderful song as a reward to the brave sala- 
mander fire department.” 













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